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Highways England have said they are "deeply concerned" about an incident which happened on the M48 Severn Bridge where a man climbed one of the towers in order to fly a drone off it.

The incident happened this morning, December 31 at around 8.15am when the man - said to be in his 20s - was spotted climbing on the bridge by security cameras.

Avon and Somerset police were called to the scene and had to block traffic in both directions until it was reopened just before 9am.

The man climbed down the tower voluntarily and was arrested by officers for 'public nuisance' offences.

A spokesperson for Highways England said he "put their life at serious risk", adding: "Thankfully there was no injury or worse on this occasion."

"Appropriate security is in place on the bridge, we are liaising with Avon and Somerset Police and will be undertaking investigations to determine if any damage was caused during the incident," he said.

The troubling incident comes within the same month that Gatwick Airport near London had to go on lock down after dozens of sightings of drones flying close to the runway.

Between December 19-21 hundreds of flights were cancelled causing major travel disruption and financial loss for passengers.