Traffic chaos as thousands flock to Cosford Air Show
[gallery] Drivers faced chaos as traffic came to a standstill when thousands of people flocked to the Cosford Air Show.
Queues stretched for up to six miles along the M54 westbound between junction 2 for Wolverhampton and junction 3 at Tong, while surrounding roads the A41 and the A5 were also heavily congested.
Despite the doors to the event opening at 8.30am, visitors were still stuck in traffic jams in the afternoon.
Organisers only admitted people with tickets bought in advance due to the travel problems.
Cosford Air Show 2013 - Your pictures
Some who had planned to visit abandoned their journey after several hours, leading to an apology from organisers.
There were more reports of people waiting for hours to be able to leave the site after the show
The hugely popular event sees high-speed military jets and aerobatic performers take to the skies for a spectacular day of action.
Residents in and around the area were treated to the spectacle of the Red Arrows soaring overhead and took to Twitter and YouTube to post their views.
Others took to social media to vent their frustration with the traffic.
A message on the show's website said: " There is an unprecedented number of visitors to this year's show and as a consequence traffic is exceptionally heavy with significant delays.
"Organisers are urging all visitors without tickets, not to attend the show, as they will be turned away.
"RAF Cosford, The Highways Agency and West Mercia Police continue to work together to try and ensure that as many people as possible get into this year's show as soon as, and as safely as possible."
Organisers have also insisted that 'capacity reached is that of vehicle numbers and not people'.
Visitors travelling on trains and pre-booked coaches were still being allowed in.
RAF Cosford spokesman Graham Lee said the problems began to ease by about 2pm. And he insisted no-one had been turned away - despite the warning on the website.
A 1,000-space overflow car park was opened, adding to the 17,000 existing spaces, and police were drafted in to help re-direct traffic not heading to the show that was getting stuck in queues.
Mr Lee said at least 50,000 people had attended and the turnout was expected to be close to a record.
He added: "We want to thank people for their tenacity in getting here and supporting the show.
"We appreciate their patience especially in this hot weather. I understand that some people with tickets gave up and went home before getting here and we are sorry for that."
Send your Cosford Air Show pictures on Twitter @ExpressandStar or on email via internet@expressandstar.co.uk. Look out for full reports and more pictures in Monday's Express & Star.
