Motorists in Manchester city centre faced frustration and chaos last night as the area became gridlocked, causing significant delays and traffic congestion. The situation at Manchester Arndale’s car park led to long queues and car horns blaring, with some drivers reportedly stuck for hours, as captured in a viral TikTok post.
This is not the first instance of severe delays at the city centre car park, with previous incidents in 2022 prompting police intervention due to complaints from irate shoppers. Videos shared on TikTok, viewed over 120,000 times, depicted the extensive queues both entering and exiting the multi-storey car park on Saturday evening.
Witnesses described the scenes as “absolute madness,” highlighting the stagnant traffic throughout the Northern Quarter and Arndale. Commuters also faced challenges, with reports of buses being stranded near Shudehill for up to 45 minutes. The congestion was attributed to rush-hour traffic, the holiday shopping rush, and the influx of visitors to the popular Christmas markets.
Social media comments reflected the widespread frustration, with individuals sharing their experiences of being stuck in traffic for extended periods. Manchester Arndale and APCOA car parks have been approached for their comments on the situation.
In a separate incident, the search for a missing UK Navy crew member off the north-west coast of Ireland was called off after a large-scale search operation. The crew member from the RFA Tidesurge vessel went missing on Friday night, sparking a search effort between Tory Island, Co Donegal, and Eagle Island, Co Mayo. Limited details have been disclosed about the crew member, respecting the family’s privacy.
Defence Secretary John Healey expressed deep sadness over the unsuccessful search, extending condolences to the crew member’s family and colleagues. He acknowledged the collaborative efforts of the Irish authorities, RNLI, Royal Air Force, and Royal Navy in the search operation.