M74 closed following death

A stretch of the M74 motorway in Dumfries and Galloway has been closed following the death of a man in the early hours of this morning.

The pedestrian was killed after being struck by several vehicles while walking along the southbound carriageway of the motorway near Johnstonebridge at around 1.25am.

The man is believed to be in his 20s and from the Newcastle area.

Police say he was with family members shortly before the incident occurred and that they are now helping officers piece together the man's movements before the crash.

Three or four vehicles are reported to have stopped at the scene.

One driver was taken to hospital to be treated for shock.

The road was closed southbound between junctions 15 and 17 and police later closed the northbound carriageway between junctions 17 and 16 while they carried out accident investigations.

Police have appealed for information from anyone who may have been using the M74 or been within the area of Johnstonebridge Services around the time of the accident.