Man found dead on M1 in Northamptonshire 'may have hidden in lorry' Published duration 10 January 2017

image caption The view over the M1 at junction 16 earlier

Police said a man hit by several vehicles on the M1 may have hidden himself in a lorry.

A section of the northbound motorway in Northamptonshire was closed from about 03:00 GMT after the body was discovered on an unlit stretch.

Police said the death of the man, named as Ashley Hayes, 46, from Shepherd's Bush, London, could be suspicious.

Det Sgt Tony Hopkins said: "This may have been an accident or something more serious."

The carriageway was closed between junction 16 and 18 until about 14:00.

image copyright VizMaps image caption The body was found on the M1 in Northamptonshire

Police were first alerted to the body, between junctions 16 and 17, just after 02:00 after receiving a number of calls from motorists.

They said Mr Hayes suffered "catastrophic" injuries on a 50mph stretch of the road near Watford Gap services.

Mr Hopkins said Mr Hayes may have been in the Toddington Services area, in Bedfordshire, at about 01:30.

"He may have been given a lift from there, or may have hidden himself in a lorry, to enable him to get to where we discovered him," Mr Hopkins said.