Child put on the naughty step - on the hard shoulder of the M4

Parenting experts may disagree on whether to put your child on the “naughty step”, but few would recommend teaching a hard lesson on the hard shoulder.

Parents in the West Country did just that, however, leaving their child to walk alone next to cars and lorries thundering past at 70mph.

The child, found by a traffic officer walking next to the M4 near Bristol last year, was apparently on a “time out” after misbehaving.

The unusual parenting decision was brought to light today by Highways England, who insisted hard shoulders should only be used by motorists in the event of an emergency.

Simon Jones, regional director at Highways England, said: "Drivers often think the hard shoulder is a safe place to stop but over 100 people are killed or injured on the hard shoulder every year.

"The advice is simple: be prepared. Check your vehicle before you set out to avoid unnecessary breakdowns, don't stop except in an emergency, and if you have to stop, make sure you know what to do."

The safest course in the event of mechanical failure, if possible, is to exit the motorway at the next exit to avoid stopping next to running traffic.

Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "There's a clue in the collective name given to hard shoulders and emergency areas on motorways.

"Highways England calls them places of relative safety and no one should see them as total safe havens but the least worst place to stop when there's no alternative.

"Ideally, the edge of a motorway should not feature in anyone's list of bank holiday destinations, certainly not through choice."

The hard shoulder has also been the unlikely location for a taxi passenger's bathroom break, near Staines, and a family cooking a meal, in Dartford.

Rule 270 of the Highway Code states you must not stop on the carriageway, hard shoulder, slip road, central reservation or verge except in an emergency, or when told to do by the police, Highways Agency traffic officers in uniform, an emergency sign, or by flashing red light signals