Shopping frenzy causes traffic mayhem

A bank holiday shopping frenzy sparked large queues and traffic jams at retail parks across the Black Country and Staffordshire.

An exit slip road at junction nine of the M6 for Wednesbury even had to close for more than two hours to cope with the high volumes of traffic caused by shoppers.

Stores across the region reported more customers than anticipated, as the bleak weather led people indoors.

Gallagher Retail Park in Wednesbury was among the busiest, as shoppers flocked to home stores including Ikea and B&Q.

Highways bosses had to close the northbound exit slip road at junction nine from 12.15pm to around 2.30pm yesterday to cope.

Spokeswoman Jo Carroll said: "We closed the exit slip road to try and help the traffic flow through the western arm, where the northbound M5 meets the northbound M6. By closing the slip road it eased the congestion."

Drivers had to leave the motorway at junction 10 at Walsall and cross over to the southbound carriageway and come off the slip road there instead.

In Staffordshire, queues built up around the Orbital Retail Park in Cannock, which has stores including SCS and Homebase, and at Wyrley Brook, which is home to a giant B&Q.

Mother-of-two Diane Mills, an office worker from Hednesford, who was at Orbital Retail Park yesterday afternoon, said: "It was like Christmas. There were long delays causing problems at the slip road off the main access road."

Mike Gilbert, service manager of B&Q in Vine Lane, Wyrley Brook, said: "It has been much busier than we anticipated."

Crowds also descended on the Merry Hill shopping centre in Dudley, with traffic stretching along Thorns Road to Lye, a distance of just over a mile away.