SUNNY weather and people heading for weekend events combined to cause traffic chaos in hotspots around Dorset and the New Forest today.

Warnings were issued about queuing traffic building up on the westbound carriageway of the A35 between the A350 Blandford Road and Baker’s Arms roundabout and down the A351 towards Wareham.

The chaos also led to buses failing to get through from Purbeck. A spokesman for more bus company said: “A complete gridlock of traffic is stopping buses from returning from Swanage.

“We are doing our best for the customer by putting on extra buses and keeping people updated via Facebook and Twitter, but there is a lot of traffic on the road, which we believe may be to do with Camp Bestival.”

The company tweeted to tell passengers that routes 40 and 50 were experiencing delays and would get to them as soon as possible. The 2.50pm bus from Swanage did not run at all.

 

We are unable to run the 1450 route 50  from Bournemouth to Swanage this afternoon. Apologies for the inconvenience caused.

— Morebus (@Morebusco) August 1, 2013



The car park on the popular Sandbanks peninsula in Poole were declared full by lunchtime, and a sign was put up at the Civic Centre roundabout urging motorists to find alternatives.

Graham Richardson, head of Poole tourism said: “Poole is a popular resort destination and with Britain’s best beach at Sandbanks, most people want to go there.

“We do support our transportation team in highlighting other car parks near our other Blue Flag beaches at Branksome Chine, Canford Cliffs and Shore Road.”

Heavy traffic was also reported on the A31 between Southampton and Bournemouth, while the Wessex Way was partly blocked between the Springbourne and ASDA exits in Bournemouth this morning after a lorry broke down.

A police spokesman attributed the situation to “the sheer volume of traffic entering the county”, adding: “It’s the summer holidays, the weather’s nice and parents want to take their kids out. Camp Bestival as well doesn’t help traffic flow.”

Further delays could be caused over the weekend by Swanage Regatta and Carnival events and the end of Camp Bestival on Sunday.

A Dorset County Council spokesman said: "Motorists should expect heavier traffic than usual on the roads near the Camp Bestival site. We are advising people to plan their journeys over the festival weekend."