British police have condemned people stuck in traffic who taunted a distressed woman as negotiators tried to save her life by talking her down from a bridge.
Officers said it was “completely unacceptable” after members of the public made offensive remarks as officers tried to help the woman to safety.
The incident forced the closure of the M3 at Sunbury in Surrey for more than two hours after emergency teams were alerted just after 11am.
Surrey police, can't you rubber bullet the jumper on the M3/A316 and get the traffic moving? Or get net ready & charge her? Ridiculous.
— Sara Russell (@MrsSaraRussell) July 4, 2015One Twitter user, Frankie Maicourt, tweeted Surrey Police: "Tell her to get on with it. Bloody ruining everyone's weekend. Sat in this for an hour and a half now."
Another user, Sara Russell, wrote: "To the person causing traffic jam on the M3/A316, you selfish, selfish twat."
She added: “Surrey police, can’t you rubber bullet the jumper on M3/A316 and get the traffic moving? Or get net ready & charge her? Ridiculous.”
The woman was detained under the Mental Health Act after being helped to safety from the pedestrian bridge, Surrey Police said.
Inspector Julie Hillman said: "Having members of the public taunt somebody who is clearly in a distressed state as we did earlier today is completely unacceptable.
“I hope the public understand why it was necessary for us to close the road as doing so helped save the woman’s life.
“I appreciate that being stuck in traffic is the last thing that people want to be doing, particularly on a weekend when the weather is hot, but on this occasion it was completely necessary to ensure officers saw this woman to safety.”