Last-minute Christmas shoppers were left stranded for hours last night after heavy traffic blocked car park exits at Bluewater Shopping Centre. Police were called to help clear the backlog when a broken down vehicle and high visitor numbers caused traffic chaos at the Kent shopping complex.
"A broken down vehicle and the sheer volume of traffic at Bluewater last night caused delays to people trying to exit the shopping centre car parks. Local officers attended and directed traffic to help clear the backlog and the traffic is now running freely."
"Yesterday a broken down vehicle and a high volume of traffic in and around Bluewater caused delays to Christmas shoppers exiting the car parks. While the traffic in surrounding areas, including the M25, is out of Bluewater’s control, we have a dedicated team who work closely with organisations such as Kent Police and Highways England, to minimise traffic congestion at peak times. This includes deploying additional hosts in our carparks to help guests find spaces, as well as implementing traffic controls on surrounding roads. In addition, our extended opening hours provide guests with the greatest possible amount of time to visit Bluewater, which helps to reduce traffic on surrounding roads."