A 26-year-old woman has been arrested and accused of drink-driving on a motorway after police stopped a car driving the wrong way along the M5.
Police were dealing with a separate matter at the traffic island of junction 1 of the M5 in the early hours of Wednesday morning when they saw a Vauxhall Astra leaving the motorway up the entry sliproad in West Bromwich.
The vehicle was driven around the traffic island where officers stopped the car and arrested the driver.
Inspector Mark Watkins, from Central Motorway Police Group, said: "This incident could have been very serious, as the car was driven north on the southbound carriageway of the M5 from Oldbury up to West Bromwich, where it left the motorway by driving up the entry sliproad at junction 1.
"Thankfully no one was injured and the motorway was quiet due to the time of day. However it could well have been very different."
The driver, from Halesowen, was taken into police custody on suspicion of dangerous driving and driving under the influence of drink or drugs, a police spokeswoman said.
The arrest comes in the opening week of West Midlands Police's Christmas campaign to reduce drink-driving over the festive period.
Every person charged with drink or drug-driving offences is being named throughout a four-month campaign.
Inspector Greg Jennings, force lead for the Christmas drink-drive campaign, said: "This is one of the various ways we are trying to send the message home that drink-driving has consequences.
"No family wants to receive that dreaded knock on the door and we as police officers definitely do not want to make those kinds of visits, but unfortunately it continues to happen.
"Until people realise that drink or drug-driving leads to a criminal record then they are likely to continue to break the law, pose a danger and believe that they can get away with it."
