A WOMAN WAS airlifted to hospital after falling off a bridge on the M5.

Emergency services were called to the scene at 4.48pm, on Wednesday, on the northbound carriageway between junction 26 and 25 for Taunton and Wellington.

Both the northbound and southbound carriageways were closed by police as they dealt with the incident - it was reopened around an hour later.

The woman was airlifted to Southmead Hospital after falling off the bridge.

The severity of her injuries are not yet know, however Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that her injuries are not though to be life-threatening. 

Before she was airlifted, she was treated by off-duty paramedics who were at the scene at the time, and then a doctor from the air ambulance.

A spokesman for South Western Air Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 4.48pm to reports of an incident on the motorway between junction 26 and junction 25 on the northbound carriageway.

"A number of off-duty paramedics were at the scene, and the woman was treated by them, a doctor from the air ambulance, and she was then airlifted to Southmead Hospital."

There are long traffic delays in both directions on the motorway

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "We were called to reports of a concern for welfare of a woman who was standing on a motorway bridge.

"The woman was standing on the bridge between junction 25 and 26

"The carriageway has been closed in both directions, and the air ambulance has been called."

An air ambulance is at the scene, and it is believed the incident is a Tri-Force, a specialist operations unit between Wiltshire Police, Avon and Somerset Police and Gloucester Police.