A man spent five hours on a bridge over the M25 during a police stand off.

Dayle Smith, of Bingham Close, Hemel Hempstead, pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance after the traffic chaos in August.

Police tried to coax the 30-year old down from the bridge when they arrived at the scene at 4.05pm - but he did not move until around 9pm.

He was assessed by mental health professionals and deemed fit to appear in court, where he pleaded guilty.

During the stand-off, thousands of people were stuck in their cars on what was a boiling hot day.

Many had no food or water and were left struggling in the heat.

Police officers on motorbikes, along with Hertfordshire County Council and Highways England, regularly patrolled the area to ensure everybody was safe. But insensitive people at the front of the queue shouted ‘jump’ and honked their horns at him. Twitter user @LeaLooDallas, who was stuck at the front of the queue, was horrified by what she witnessed.

She wrote: “M25 people sounding horns and some even shouting jump to the guy on the bridge.

“Guys, this doesn’t help. We are all in the same boat.”

People also took to Twitter to vent their frustration.