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Dance music fans driving to the Creamfields festival in Cheshire are being warned they will face fines if they breach motorway rules.

About 70,000 people are expected to attend the four-day music event in Daresbury on Thursday.

National Highways said extra officers were being deployed around Junction 11 of the M56 at Daresbury to deter festivalgoers from walking on the motorway.

It is also reminding motorists not to stop on the motorway hard shoulder or live lanes to drop off or pick up revellers.

Gary Farrell, National Highways’ senior network planner, said: "We would like to remind everyone that the motorway is no place for pedestrians - it is dangerous and illegal and having pedestrians on the network can cause delays.

"Drivers wanting to pick people up should use the dedicated collection points off the motorway network, which will be clearly signed.”

The four-day festival, near Runcorn, will feature events running between 14:00 BST on Thursday through to 23:00 on Sunday.

Car parks to the site will open at 12:00 on Thursday and close at 14:00 on Monday 26 August.

Festivalgoers travelling from the north, south and east of the venue will be directed to use Junction 11 of the M56, while traffic from the west will be directed to use Junction 12, National Highways said.

Drivers are also being urged to follow dedicated signs to the site and not to rely on sat-nav, which National Highways said "could put vehicles on unsuitable, narrow roads".

Other road users are being advised that the M56 around junctions 10, 11 and 12 around Runcorn is likely to be busy at key times of the weekend.

The M56 interchange with the M6 is also likely to experience higher volumes of traffic.

Electronic signs along the M6, M56 and M62 are being used to give advance warning about the event.

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