A man from the North-East who died when he was struck by a number of vehicles as he walked along a motorway was named by police today.

Raju Gurbaksh Singh, 28, died on the M74 near junction 16 at Johnstonebridge, Dumfries and Galloway, in the early hours of yesterday.

It is understood Mr Singh had walked off when the car he was travelling in stopped at nearby services. At least four vehicles are thought to have hit him.

It is believed he had travelled to Scotland to attend a wedding with family members in the Glasgow area.

Police were called to the scene at around 1am yesterday where they found three or four vehicles had stopped at the scene, all of which were believed to have hit Mr Singh on the southbound carriageway.

It was also thought that a number of other vehicles may have struck him but did not stop, perhaps because they were not aware they had hit someone.

One driver was taken to Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary suffering from shock. He was released from hospital yesterday.

Mr Singh, who is from Washington, near Newcastle, had been in a car with family members shortly before he stopped at the services.

A spokesman for Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary said: ''Inquiries into the full circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Mr Singh are still being investigated by Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary who are still making an appeal for anyone who may have seen the crash in which he was killed to get in touch through 0845 600 5701.''

The southbound carriageway of the M74 between junctions 15 and 17 was closed yesterday while a crash investigation was carried out, and a stretch of the northbound carriageway was also shut for a time.