Fuming drivers trapped in shopping centre car park for hours

06 August 2023 , 21:57

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Posts about the chaos were shared to social media

Furious shoppers reportedly abandoned their cars after being trapped at a shopping centre car park for hours.

Pictures taken from Trafford Retail Park, in Greater Manchester, showed scores of vehicles snaking around the car park in chaotic scenes that one motorist likened to being 'worse than Christmas'.

Some people are said to have walked to McDonald's only to find their car had not moved when they returned, with one mum claiming she spent '25 minutes' trying to get out of her parking space.

Videos and posts about the chaos were shared to social media, including by Clare Jemison, who had visited Sports Direct with her daughter, 10, who has ADHD. She called the situation 'horrendous' and said she would not be returning to the shopping park again.

She said that once out of the park, nearby Barton Road was also congested in both directions up to the M60 slip road, where traffic then eased.

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Pictures taken from Trafford Retail Park, Barton Road, showed scores of vehicles snaking around the car park (Matthew Roberts)

"It took me 25 minutes just to get out of the parking space. Nothing was moving at all," she told the Manchester Evening News. "Some people even abandoned their cars there and went back later on.

"People were getting out of their cars and walking to KFC or McDonald's for food, coming back and their cars still hadn't moved.

"It took us two hours to get out. It was ridiculous and something needs to be done about it. Nobody moved at all because other cars were blocking the roads and the roundabout to try and get in.

"It was absolutely horrendous and I won't be going back. I had my 10 year old daughter in the car with ADHD it was so hard for her. It was worse than at Christmas - absolutely crazy.

Posts about the issue were shared to local Facebook groups, in which one other disgruntled shopper posted: "It was horrific. I ended up walking home to get my two year old to nap. Three young kids in the car is a killer."

Another wrote: "It took me 3.5 hours to do 10 minutes shopping. It's just the sheer volume of traffic on the retail park, with people blocking the entrances. Will be a long time before I go back there again."

Others even resorted to tagging Greater Manchester Police in tweets, as @simondoyle87 wrote: "Any chance someone can come down to Trafford Retail and sort out this absolute nightmare of a gridlock? Got a six month old and three year old in the car - neither are happy bunnies."

And @pulkitahuja posted: "@TraffordCouncil total gridlock at Trafford retail park. An hour already in the car trying to come out. Can @gmpolice or Trafford council help?"

James Holt