Revellers at two major Black Country firework displays frustrated over gridlocked traffic and long queues

Some of the crowds trying to make their way to Wolverhampton Racecourse on Saturday reported gridlocked queues, with others missing the display altogether and going home.

And over in Walsall, a raft of complaints have been made, with many reporting hours of queues for both food and attractions.

Some people in attendance took to social media to vent their frustrations, while many others said they had enjoyed the events and would be back next year.

A spokesman for Wolverhampton Council said the authority did "apologise for any inconvenience some people experienced" but said the majority hailed the Fireworks Spectacular as a "great success".

Walsall Council has since set up an online feedback form to shape future events.

Tony Thorpe from Bilston had bought tickets for the event at Wolverhampton Racecourse for himself and his great-granddaughter, who is autistic.

He says the journey to the site should take 13 minutes typically, but had to turn back and go home after spending more than two hours in traffic.

He said: "We left at 4:30pm to give us plenty of time before the 6:30pm start, but we realised while in traffic we were not going to get there on time.

"Everywhere was gridlocked, we ended up on a diversion, which took us further from the racecourse.

"I had an autistic child in the car and she was getting distressed so we decided to try and get back home as we weren’t going to make it.

"I don’t know why they decided to have it on the same day as the Wolves game, that made it even worse."

Similar criticism of the display held at Walsall Arboretum has also been made.

Sarah, from Great Barr, attended the event and believes there wasn't enough provision for the number of people in attendance.

She said: "It was an absolute shambles from start to finish. Getting in was fine I have to say, but to get a burger or hotdog, I stood in the queue for an hour and still couldn’t see the front of it.

"There were six rides, and everyone had brought their children, the queues were so long you couldn't tell which ride they were for."

A spokesperson for Walsall Council said: "The Arboretum is a large site and has catered for this number of visitors to the firework display in the past.

"To learn from this years’ experience and shape future bonfire and fireworks events, the Council has set up a feedback form online: tinyurl.com/5n79a3dz"

In response to the criticism, a Wolverhampton Council spokesperson said: "The Fireworks Spectacular at Wolverhampton Racecourse was a real success for the city with unprecedented levels of demand.

"We opened the gates early at 4pm to a sell-out event, with 17,283 tickets sold in advance for people to enjoy the two world-class displays – and we have received a lot of positive feedback.

"To help people plan their journey, notices of the sell-out were issued on our social media channels on the day. All ticket holders for the event were written to in advance to remind them that all parking on site had to be pre-booked and this was also made clear on the website and in all advance communications.

"Hundreds of overflow parking spaces had been secured at the Science Park and Wickes and we encouraged people to travel by public transport if they could, as well as providing advance warning to travel early and expect delays that you get with any major community event of this nature.

"We also worked closely with the football club to advise fans attending the nearby match to take alternative routes if possible. It was a busy and bustling day in the city, with a high volume of traffic including the crowd leaving Wolves’ Premier League game at Molineux Stadium.

"We apologise for any inconvenience some people experienced.

"All customer feedback will inform our planning for future events and we will continue to encourage use of public transport and for those who can access the venue on foot to consider that as an option."