Visitors to the Trafford Centre were met with unexpected turmoil as they found themselves ensnared in a parking nightmare. Families experienced distress, with reports of children crying and adults engaging in heated disputes and altercations, unable to vacate their parking spots.
Cody Fisher, a business administrator, and his boyfriend, healthcare worker Lewis Moran, recounted their ordeal after attending a showing of Wicked. They arrived around noon and spent an hour searching for parking, but it was upon leaving the film at about 3 o’clock that they realised they were trapped.
The couple, aged 18 and 20 respectively, were stuck in their car for nearly five hours amidst a sea of stationary vehicles. As the hours ticked by, frustration among the drivers escalated.
Cody recalled the growing tension: “We went to the car and everyone was on the road, and the engines were turned off. We thought that’s a bit weird.”
Time dragged on, and by late afternoon, tempers flared. “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.”, reports the Manchester Evening News.
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In an attempt to alleviate the situation, some individuals took matters into their own hands, opening gates usually kept closed to expedite the exit process.
But things took a turn for the worse, as tensions escalated in the congested traffic. Cody recounted a physical altercation borne out of mounting frustration: “It was like throwing hands each other”, he disclosed.
“It was this lady and another lady, the first lady had a child with diabetes.”
They were at their wits’ end, voices raised in the chaos, ‘we’ve been here five hours’, they hollered, ‘we’re not letting you pass’. The backlash was instant, as onlookers pleaded, ‘stop being so selfish’.
Cody added, “I’ve never seen anything like it, it’s a Christmas nightmare.”
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When we caught up with Cody, he and his companion Lewis were gridlocked for five hours, ultimately surrendering to the deadlock. “It was about five hours,” he confessed, “we just decided that we’re going to go back to our car parking place, because we just got sick of it.”
The situation deteriorated further as they inched forward. “We edged out of the space, about 30cm. I’ve got voice messages of people screaming. There’s swearing, verbal abuse.”
Meanwhile, Natalia Suska, 33, alongside her partner Piyush Sheopuri, 31, found themselves ensnared while fetching an order from Pandora at the Trafford Centre. Piyush remarked on the sheer disorder, “People have parked up on the footpath and the grass as well.”
Sharing her disbelief with the Manchester Evening News, Natalia said, “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.”
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The Trafford Centre has been hit by gridlock, with a spokesperson attributing the delays to a perfect storm of seasonal shoppers and football fans heading to Old Trafford. Speaking to the M.E. N., they said: “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.”