TRAINS were cancelled and part of the town centre was cordoned off after a man threatened to jump from a bridge onto rail lines.

The man, dressed in a grey coat and grey tracksuit bottoms, climbed on to the bridge near to Morrisons at about 3pm.

He came down from the bridge at just before 6pm.

Police and ambulance crews were called to the scene and the area around Great Moor Street was sealed off.

The incident caused delays for commuters whose journeys had also been affected by a strike being held by First Bus.

One passenger, who asked not to be named, was unable to get back to Wigan after finishing work in Bolton.

She said: "They need to do something about people on the bridge.  “The should make it safer so they can’t be jumping off the bridges. It’s about time it was thought about.”

And Josh Howarth, aged 18, was also on his way back to Wigan after a day’s work at Moffatt and Co.

He said: “I don’t feel like anything can be done to stop it. It’s just one individual who obviously needs help.  “I have sympathy for him but obviously one person’s actions have affected hundreds of people.”