SHOCKING images captured two girls dangling their legs over a motorway bridge ­— seemingly soaking up the evening sunshine.

Motorists couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the two young teenagers during Monday’s rush hour, seated on a raised ledge on a bridge which spans the M61 Kearsley Spur.

The Bolton News:

At times the pair appeared to be leaning out of the bridge ledge, which is several feet above the base of the bridge.

The girls were spotted on the bridge at around 5.45pm and a number of motorists are believed to have contacted police, fearing for the girls’ safety.

One motorist who was driving from Manchester to Bolton said: “It looked like they were just sat there soaking up the sunshine.

“Their legs were hanging outside the bridge and it looked very dangerous. They were in a perilous position.

“This is one of the higher bridges, at least 60 feet up.

“I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, I felt that they could be in danger.

“It is not what you expect to see when driving on a motorway.”

The Bolton News:

Fearing for their safety, the motorist pulled off the motorway to walk up to the bridge to warn the girls of the danger they were putting themselves in or notifying the police.

“When I got there, there were two officers talking to the girls who looked similar to those on the bridge,” said the motorist.

The 58-year-old said that he spoke to police on the day and again the next morning.

He said: “I was told the girls were given advice but the police had a number of phone calls from concerned motorists who saw them on the motorway bridge.”

And added that lives of motorists, as well as their own, were being endangered by their actions.

The Bolton News:

Cllr Sean Hornby urged parents to talk to their children about the dangers of ‘playing’ on bridges

He said:”I had read about this on social media.

“These seem to be young people who are often unaware of the danger they can place themselves in.

“There is a concern for their safety, which was feeling on social media, people did not know whether they were just messing around or, because in light of recent events, they were going to jump.”

He added: “As a council we need to be looking at all the bridges there, maybe increase the height to make them more difficult to climb and also raise awareness of the dangers young people can put themselves in.”

No one from the police was available for a comment.