Driver fined for hard shoulder toilet break on M4 in Berkshire

A motorist has been fined by police for “using the hard shoulder as a toilet”.

The incident took place on Tuesday morning between junctions 12 and 13 of the M4 motorway in Berkshire.

The Thames Valley Police roads policing team posted on Facebook that it was having a “lovely drive down the motorway in the morning sunshine” when greeted by the sight of a driver answering nature’s call.

It added: “What made it worse is they had only just passed the services and were only a few miles from the next.”

The force has not specified the gender of the motorist, or whether they were urinating or having a full-blown bowel movement.

But it said: “Not only is this unhygienic, it is dangerous for those that need the hard shoulder in a genuine emergency.

“This has turned out to be a very expensive bathroom break as the motorist given a fine for improper use of the hard shoulder.”

The driver received a £50 fine for stopping on the hard shoulder, which according to National Highways is for emergency use only.

Going to the toilet in public can also be treated as an anti-social act, though in 2023 a man who used a lay-by to go to the toilet on the A41 in Hertfordshire was fined for littering.