Britain's longest motorway is to be painted with double yellow lines.Road chiefs will spend £60million marking the hard shoulders in both directions of the 226-mile long M6.
Bosses at the Highways Agency hope the move will stop people abusing the emergency lane - including picnicking families and beer-swilling football fans who stop for a wee - and earn extra revenue.
The line marking, which will use 16,000 gallons of yellow paint, is expected to take 12 weeks and will begin next February, causing traffic chaos between Junction 1 near Rugby, Warwickshire, and Junction 44 near the Scottish border.
Highways Agency insiders revealed there are secret plans to extend the yellow lines to the entire network by April 1, 2010.
But the proposal has sparked fury among motoring groups who blasted the decision as an "outrageous waste of public money".
Drivers will face fines of up to £100 if they are caught flouting the traffic measure. CCTV cameras will identify offenders and send highspeed motorway traffic wardens to ticket them.
A Highways Agency spokesman said: "Parking on the hard shoulder is extremely dangerous. We believe the most effective way of stopping this is double yellow lines."
April Loof, a spokesman for the Drivers' Alliance fumed: "It's an outrageous waste of public money. The yellow lines will penalise people who desperately need the loo."
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