PEOPLE living near Worcester’s new Waitrose say they have been left facing gridlock since the supermarket opened its doors.

Thousands of shoppers have been flocking to the new store, off busy London Road, since it opened its doors on Thursday morning.

But residents in nearby streets say they have been left facing traffic misery.

Although Waitrose has its own car park, the store has not allowed its 120 employees to park there.

Frustrated residents say the policy has seen staff parking in nearby roads, causing tailbacks and congestion.

Martin Blything, who lives on Nunnery Lane, said: “There were so many cars here yesterday that we wondered whether a rock festival was on.

“It’s a small road and difficult to pass cars. Just one parked car can cause a tailback.

“Usually there is one car but yesterday there were about 15.”

His wife June, 47, said: “Yesterday I went by bike instead of car in the end because I thought I would never get out.

The couple live between two schools and say the problems are particularly bad during the rush hour.

Mrs Blything said the road will require double yellow lines if Waitrose doesn’t relent and allow their staff to use the store car park.

“There will be gridlock when schools start again In September," she said.

Linda Love, another Nunnery Lane resident, said: “The trouble is we have two school entrances and at rush hour there are times when cars are just queuing up.

“It’s really annoying, you would think they could get their staff to park in their car park.

“A lot of people went in angry the other day and I’m pleased I wasn’t the only one.

“A member of staff told me they had no parking for the staff and that they had been asked not to park at Waitrose for two weeks.”

Mrs Love complained to the store again on Friday morning after her daughter spotted lots of cars on both sides of the road.

“I rang them up this morning and they said they would get their staff to move their cars but there’s still more of them here than usual,” she said.

“It was the same this morning but now they have moved lots of them.”

Mrs Love also believes the number of cars poses a safety threat to the school children who play in the area.

Cars were parked all along Nunnery Road on Friday, with traffic being forced to weave around the vehicles, according to Mrs Love.

“A lady couldn’t get her car out of Spetchley Road because of double parking,” she said.

“It’s causing congestion on Nunnery Lane. It’s a two-lane road but becomes one lane when cars are parked on both sides.”

A Hillery Road resident, who did not want to be named, said: “This morning when I went to work I couldn’t get out of the drive.

“Traffic onto Spetchley Road is normally queued back to Hillery Road and that’s without the parked cars.

The resident said a member of staff told him they had been instructed to park on the nearby roads.

“We welcome Waitrose being there but the people who live up here have had issues and for them to get staff to park on these roads is not on,” he said.

Janet Jarvis, chairman of the Spetchley Road area residents' association, said: "It seems unfortunate, to put it mildly, that in the first two days of Waitrose's trading, the store should be angering so many local residents and potential customers."

Ms Jarvis described the Nunnery Lane and Spetchley Road junction as an accident waiting to happen.

"Nunnery Wood High School pupils cross this junction and find it hazardous, but now there is the added danger of vehicles turning into the Lane and being unable to progress further because their way is blocked by parked vehicles," she said. 

"It will be a miracle if all the children remain unscathed."

Ms Jarvis said Spetchley Road has been reduced to the width of one vehicle, because of cars being parked on both sides of the road.

The parked vehicles have also lowered visibility for residents pulling out of their drives, according to Ms Jarvis.

"In Spetchley Road, we used to have a respite at weekends, but that will not be the case unless something radical is done to cure this situation," she said.  

"We will do our utmost to see that the parking situation in the area returns to sanity and that Waitrose makes sure that it supplies parking, as they should, for all their employees, before anyone is injured or worse."

Ms Jarvis said Waitrose originally told the residents' association that a number of sixth form students would be given parking vouchers, to help aleviate the problem.

A Waitrose spokesman said: “The store has proved extremely popular and we have been unable to accommodate both staff and customers.

“We have therefore encouraged those staff who drive to find alternative parking and wherever possible use public transport or car share.

“We are very sorry to hear people are parking in neighbouring roads as a result of our opening."

They added that they expect trade ‘to settle down after two weeks’, making spaces available for employees.

A Worcestershire County Council spokesman said they were not aware of any increase in congestion since the store opened.

*Have you experienced traffic problems since Waitrose opened? Email matthew.dresch@newsquest.co.uk or call 01905 742263