A woman who drove seven kilometres the wrong way down a motorway to avoid paying a toll has been seized by police in Spain.

Astonishing footage obtained by Newsflash shows her apparently trying to sneak through a toll gate before turning around on the R-3 radial motorway near Madrid.

As she reaches the toll, she can be seen driving up and down to different pay booths trying to follow other cars through the barriers.

But when this fails, she turns around and starts to speed the wrong way up the motorway.

Street camera footage shows her weaving from side to side before setting off on the hard shoulder while other cars come towards her.

She was eventually pulled over by the Spanish Civil Guard, who had been tipped off by motorway workers.

The footage shows the patrol officers stopping the woman, who had been travelling for about seven kilometres in the wrong direction heading towards other terrified motorists.

She drove with her warning flashers on, apparently in a bid to alert other drivers.

Police arrested the woman for her reckless driving and performed an alcohol and a drug test on her, which both came back negative.

After a short investigation and an interview with the woman, the police reportedly verified that she acted in complete awareness of the situation and was simply trying to avoid paying the toll.