Plans to widen motorways 'axed'

Ministers say using the hard shoulder offers a greener alternative

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon has suggested plans to widen the M6, M1, M62 and M25 will be dropped.

He said a trial on the M42, using the hard shoulder at busy times, had shown it was possible to ease congestion without concreting over more land.

Mr Hoon told Sky News it also meant increasing capacity without the "difficulty and expense" of widening.

He announced plans to roll out use of the hard shoulder across the core motorway network on Thursday.

The Observer reported that plans to widen more than 220 miles of the M6, M1, M62 and M25 had been scrapped in a