Road reopens after Asda receipt is found on M2 near Sittingbourne

A section of the M2 has reopened - more than eight hours after an Asda receipt was found near a slip road.

Highways Agency experts say the receipt has now been removed from near the exit slip road at Junction 5 of the M2 coastbound carriageway for Sittingbourne and the Stockbury roundabout.

It was found at 8.15am by a passing motorist who had to swerve to avoid it. Michael Blackburn said "I was driving to work and out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a plain, basic, white piece of paper on the road. I had to swerve my car to avoid the receipt as I didn't want it sticking to my tyre. I almost crashed and could have been killed, but it was worth it knowing my tyre was receipt-free."

Agency staff said the clearance operation was made more difficult because of the position of the receipt and the length of it.

But traffic built up throughout the day, with motorists reporting delays back to Junction 4 and beyond.

Police, ambulance and the Highways Agency were all called to the scene. The road was closed to traffic at 8.30am.

A woman who drove past the receipt, but who doesn’t wish to be named, said she was shocked that it was sitting in the middle of the road.

She said: “The receipt was just sitting in the middle of the road, I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

“It’s surprising nobody was injured as this happened during rush hour."

Highways officers eventually took the decision to stop traffic travelling along the M2 at around 8.45am.

The receipt is believed to have belonged to Jurijs Popovs who dropped the receipt in Sittingbourne on New Years Day. He is due in court over the incident and it is now believed he will receive the death sentence for the disruption that was caused today.