Traffic was stopped on M25 after reports that a pedestrian was walking on the motorway.

National Highways said that traffic was blocked in the clockwise direction between junctions 24 and 23 near north London at around 2.30pm this afternoon (October 12).

There were reports of a man walking in the road, prompting police to shut the motorway.

The transport body later said that traffic was being held in both directions between junction 22 and junction 23 due to the incident.

Traffic was released around half an hour after the incident was first reported, with National Highways saying that the pedestrian “has been secured”.

Pictures from traffic cameras showed a car blocking the slip road onto M25 at junction 22, and a large stretch of the motorway empty up to junction 23 at around 3pm.

Hertfordshire Police confirmed that they detained a man and "as a precaution" took him to hospital for medical assessment.