Preston motorist's hunger pain as five minute pie shop run turns into three hour traffic nightmare

Hungry Adam Heslop realised he’d bitten off more than he could chew when he got snarled up in gridlock traffic at a notorious jam blackspot.

The 27-year-old rued the decision to drive to Deepdale Retail Park on Saturday afternoon.

Frustrated Adam, of Brookfields, Preston, sent out a series of amusing Twitter messages as he sat helpless in his Honda CRZ going nowhere fast.

“It took three hours for a five minute stop,” said Adam. “I thought I’d get something from Greggs, then I realised they’d closed off that road.

“I arrived just before 4pm and got home just after 7pm. Everyone was asking where I’d been. I have my cat who was hungry - he wasn’t very happy.”

He added: “I’ve had problems coming out of there before, but never that bad. The only reason I got moving was they put some traffic management in two hours later.”

Realising he was not going to move for some time, Adam went for something to eat at KFC. “I came back and nothing had moved,” he said. “I really, really regret that KFC, there wasn’t anything wrong with the food - there just wasn’t any movement.

“There were a lot of pregnant women around and some people had kids in their cars and some people got very very frustrated and angry. One of the taxi drivers parked up and ran off somewhere and he wasn’t best pleased.”

Adam’s Tweets included: “Deepdale still here, still stuck. Wondering if I will ever see my family again. Send help”.

And: “A crescendo of horns. Worried glances between motorists. A faint “I’ve got yogurts in me car!” is heard in the distance. #PrayForDeepdale”.

A study earlier this year ranked Preston among the UK’s 25 most congested places.