Shoppers looking to secure some winter deals at the Trafford Centre have instead been left trapped in the car park amid traffic chaos at the busy shopping centre.
According to visitors, children are crying and people are arguing and fighting as cars were unable to leave their spaces, reports Manchester Evening News.
Business administrator Cody Fisher had travelled to the site to see Wicked with his boyfriend, healthcare worker Lewis Moran. The pair arrived around 12, but it took the pair around an hour to secure a spot. However, it was when they emerged from their film at 3 o'clock they realised they were stuck in their parking space.
In the end, Cody, 18 and Lewis, 20, were unable to even pull out of their parking space for nearly five hours as hoards of cars piled up in the Trafford Centre. Cody described how as time went on, tensions and tempers ramped up.
Wicked finished at around three o'clock, and Cody and Lewis were gearing up to head home. They said: "We went to the car and everyone was on the road, and the engines were turned off. We thought that's a bit weird.
"Then 20 minutes went by, and another 20 minutes went by. When we got to about half six seven, that's when people starting getting really annoyed.
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"We noticed that people have started opening the gates that are usually closed, to let more cars out."
However, things began to get worse. Cody described how he had even seen a fight break out as people's anxiety about being stuck mounted. "It was like throwing hands each other", he said. "It was this lady and another lady, the first lady had a child with diabetes.
"They were screaming 'we've been here five hours', and 'we're not letting you pass'. Everyone started shouting saying stop being so selfish - I've never seen anything like it, it's a Christmas nightmare."
When Manchester Evening News spoke with Cody, he and Lewis had been stuck for five hours gone back into their space. "It was about five hours," he said, "we just decided that we're going to go back to our car parking place, because we just got sick of it.
"We edged out of the space, about 30cm. I've got voice messages of people screaming. There's swearing, verbal abuse."
Natalia Suska, 33, and her partner Piyush Sheopuri, 31 had gone to the Trafford Centre to pick up a Pandora order and got stuck. Piyush said: "People have parked up on the footpath and the grass as well."
Natalia told the Manchester Evening News: "We've been here two hours. I've never experienced something like that, even the day before Christmas. It wasn't that bad, we've been here on the 23rd and it was busy but not that much."
The Trafford Centre has said that the delays are due to a combination of factors including seasonal crowds and a game at Old Trafford. A spokesperson for the Trafford Centre told the M.E.N.: "With a busy day at the centre, and the Manchester United game taking place nearby this evening, the roads in and out of the centre are more congested than usual.
"We're working with Greater Manchester Police and the highways authorities to try and clear the roads as quickly as possible, so things should be moving better around the centre soon. We appreciate our visitors' patience whilst trying to get in and out of the car parks."
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