Police warn of Snapchat 'craze' encouraging youngsters to climb motorway bridges
Officers in Bury were called out to three separate incidents last night.
Last updated 20th Feb 2018
Greater Manchester Police have issued a stern warning about what they're calling a "dangerous craze" involving children climbing up and leaning over motorway bridges to take photos.
The so-called 'challenge' is thought to be being circulated through the social media app Snapchat.
Officers were called out to three separate incidents in Bury overnight...
Chief Inspector Tariq Butt is asking teenagers to think twice before taking part: "The motorway is not a playground, it's a dangerous place and my officers go through a lot of training before they deal with anything on there. They have big vehicles with flashing lights and high viability clothing so teenagers running across and falling onto it have absolutely no chance.
"How could you live with yourself if you caused the cars below to crash whilst they're distracted by you dangling off a bridge? And if one of those motorists does run you over and kill you - they have to live with that for the rest of their lives through no fault of their own.
"The consequences could be horrific and fatal. You're at risk of falling down onto the motorway and if you survive that then the likelihood is that you'll be run over by a vehicle. What we don't want to do is knock on your loved ones door and tell them you're not coming home.
"If your child is doing this or receiving Snapchats, Whatsapps or Facebook messages about doing it - report it to us."