A CYCLIST who captured footage of bank holiday "carmageddon" on Bournemouth's roads said the town's traffic has reached "crazy" levels.

Dave Williams recorded images on a helmet-mounted GoPro camera on Monday, August 28.

The 34-year-old, who has been cycling in Bournemouth for 20 years, said he passed "no less than 1,300 cars" within just two hours.

He also saw at least nine motorists using their mobile phones behind the wheel.

"On bank holiday Monday, the cars were struggling to do one mile per hour," he said.

"I was doing 12mph without even trying."

Mr Williams, who also owns a car and a motorcycle and has a licence to drive HGVs, said he has had "countless" bad experiences while cycling.

"If I was a councillor, I would have got this sorted before the Monday and publicly announced that all roads within a two-mile radius of the town centre were only to be open to cyclists, motorbikes, buses and delivery vans - no personal cars allowed," he said.

"Buses would transport people in with their children and luggage, and those on two wheels could park easily in the current available spaces near the seafront.

"As I result it wouldn't have been 'carmageddon'."

However, he said the answer is not to get thousands more on their bikes.

"I don't think it's possible or wise to get everybody to cycle," he said.

"People just aren't going to do it, not with the amount of traffic on the road."

Mr Williams said the surge in cars being bought via personal contract purchase (PCP) is adding to Bournemouth's traffic troubles.

“I would say since 2013 the traffic has grown to crazy levels," he said.

"If you go outside and look at all the new registration plates, 90 per cent of those cars are on PCP or lease deals.

"Many people could not afford these cars if they were not available for a few hundred pounds a month.”

Bournemouth is one of the most congested towns in Britain.

As reported in the Daily Echo, thousands of people made the trip to the south coast to make the most of a sweltering bank holiday Monday,

The influx led to major delays on Bournemouth's roads, with motorists facing long queues until around 11pm.