Hitchhike students warned

Students taking part in the ‘Baby Bummit’ charity event were picked up by police after attempting to hitchhike on the M18 motorway.

Organised by Sheffield Rag, the sponsored event is a smaller version of the annual ‘Bummit’ hitchhike to Europe, in which students make their way to a specified European city by any means possible.

The University of Sheffield students had been dropped at the M18 sliproad after hitching the first part of the journey in their attempt to make it to Brighton before the 8pm deadline on Wednesday, November 5.

Walking on motorways is illegal in the United Kingdom, as is hitchhiking from motorway sliproads, due to volume of traffic and worries for personal safety.

Police were alerted to the possible danger by passing drivers, and the group of hitchers were escorted from the sliproad to a nearby service station.

The Highways Agency are renewing warnings about irresponsible pedestrian action along the country’s busiest roads.

Traffic Operations Manager Maggie Carter said: "We were very concerned for the safety of these students and we advised them to contact the event organisers for advice on how to safely proceed with their journeys.

"If students are walking or hitchhiking on sliproads or hard shoulders they should immediately make their way to the nearest available exit and continue their journey from a safe location."

Rag Committee Chairman Nick Stanton echoed her concerns, saying that students taking part in the event had been told expressly to avoid motorway hitching.

"It was only one team of about three people that were involved," he said, adding that they were grateful to the police for removing the students from the busy dual carriageway.

South Yorkshire Police were made aware of the problem after calls were made by drivers on the M18 to Hallam FM and BBC Radio Sheffield’s traffic control centres, warning other drivers to be aware of the pedestrians.

A spokesperson for the University’s Union of Students said: "All students taking part in the hitchhike to Brighton participated in two safety briefings and received an information booklet, with clear instructions not to hitchhike on the motorway.

"As soon as the University was notified the Bummit chair took immediate action to ensure all students were safe."

Bummit’s sponsored events have been a success since they began in 2001, with last year’s teams hitchhiking all the way to Tallinn, Estonia.

Each participant must raise at least £200. This year’s fundraising total already stands at over £39,000.

Amy Taylor