Mother fined for running out of petrol on M1 leaving kids 'hysterical with fear'

A mother has been fined for running out of petrol on the M1 in Derbyshire leaving her children “hysterical with fear”.

The motorist was reported for driving without due care and attention, with Derbyshire Police calling the October 19 incident “unacceptable”.

Derbyshire Roads Police tweeted: “M1. 5.30am runs out of fuel with family in vehicle. Two near misses in the live lane and kids hysterical with fear. Unacceptable. Ticket.”

The driver of the black Volvo XC90, who had only just passed a service station, was labelled “idiotic” and “selfish” on social media.

However, others criticised the lack of a hard shoulder on the stretch of road which operates a smart motorway system.

“Idiotic driver but why is there no hard shoulder?!” wrote one.

“Maybe bring hard shoulders back then, forced to stop in live traffic for any breakdown. Unacceptable!!!” tweeted another.

A Derbyshire Police spokesman said: “Motorways are obviously high volume, high speed roads and the risks posed by coming to an avoidable stop are huge.

“Luckily there were no injuries but the potential for a serious collision was clear.”