A stretch of the A64 was completely closed for two hours this morning (Wednesday, 4 May).
Now North Yorkshire Police have revealed why.
In a statement, the force said: “North Yorkshire Police received reports from members of the public who were concerned about a distressed person in the area at around 9.20am this morning.
“The person was thankfully brought to safety and is receiving the help they need.
“Our thanks to motorists in the area for their patience whilst we brought the incident to a safe conclusion.”
The A64 Malton bypass was shut between the B1248 York Road junction and the A169 interchange by 9.44am.
At 11.39am, National Highways issued an update, saying: “The eastbound carriageway towards Killingbeck is now reopen following the closure of the A64 this morning.”
At that stage, the westbound carriageway remained closed due to a broken down vehicle.
This was quickly followed by a police update at 11.49am saying: “The A64 Malton Bypass has now reopened following the earlier police incident.”
Traffic had diverted through Malton and Old Malton. At one stage, the AA was reporting gridlock in and around the town.
Earlier, National Highways reported how the the A64 was “closed both ways due to a police led incident. This is near to the junctions of A169 and B1248.
“Emergency services and traffic officers are at the scene with North Yorkshire Police leading the incident.”
After the incident, North Yorkshire Police said:
If you, or someone you care about, is experiencing some kind of mental or emotional distress, we can recommend a brilliant resource called Hub of Hope which is provided by national mental health charity, Chasing The Stigma.
The Hub of Hope is the UK’s leading mental health support database bringing local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS mental health support and services together in one place for the first time.
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