‘HUNDREDS of people’ were ‘trapped’ in the Chepstow Racecourse car park for over two hours after the Tom Jones headliner ‘Summer Sessions’ concert last Saturday, July 6.

Attendee Kelly East, 46, said: “It took us two hours and 20 minutes to leave the car park and things became quite frightening.”

“It was unsafe. People started screaming at each other in road rage, it was pitch black as there were no streetlights and it was also the middle of the night.

“To make matters worse, we had to pay for the privilege! It cost £40 for us to park there for the evening.

“I am surprised no one got hurt. There is no way we will ever go to a concert there again, it totally ruined it for us.”

Event organisers Cuffe and Taylor advised concert goers beforehand through statements on their website that traffic queues and waiting times ‘up to two hours’ would be likely.

Mrs East is from Chepstow and attended the concert with her husband. The VIP tickets were a Christmas present from their teenage daughter, costing over £200 altogether.

What is usually a 20-minute journey for the couple turned into three hours because of the state of the traffic in the car park.

In an act of desperation, some guests took matters into their own hands by creating new exits, according to concert goer Maria Sian.

She said: “Someone opened a gap in the fence to exit via the road where the disabled access had been. Loads of cars followed until a worker came and shut it off again.”

“Some cars turned around and then drove onto a random field to try and get out.

“There was no organisation at all. Not a member of staff in sight. We didn’t see anything moving.”

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Many concert goers took to the Chepstow Racecourse Facebook page the day after to express their concerns over this situation.

Chantel Davies commented: “The evening was fantastic but getting out the car park was an absolute shambles. I have never experienced waiting 2.5 hours to get off a boggy field.”

“There was no organisation, no traffic Marshalls to assist with the traffic, and around six lanes all fighting to get into one. Come on Chepstow Racecourse sort it out.”

Others expressed concern over the levels of “abusive behaviour and fighting.”

Information on the Cuffe and Taylor Summer Sessions website advises that ‘parking is limited’ and offers recommendations for alternative modes of transport.

It says: “At the end of the concert, we expect the car parks to be very busy and it could take up to 2 hours to depart the site. We advise customers to take their time when leaving the arena and be prepared to wait to leave the car parks.”

The transport options they recommend include a shuttle bus running to and from Newport Train Station. There is also a shuttle between the racecourse and Chepstow’s Tesco Superstore.

A Park and Ride is located at David Broome Event Centre, NP26 5XP, with shuttles leaving every 20 minutes starting from 2pm. Tickets for this must be bought in advance.

Otherwise, they recommend taking a taxi or purchasing tickets for the Big Green Coach. More in-depth details regarding transport options can be found on their website.

Those who did use the public transport options had a better experience when leaving the concert.

Sian Hedley said: “We got the shuttle bus to and from Newport. We were out of the ground in 10 minutes and home in bed by 12. Great service.”

Chepstow Racecourse advise anyone with problems or complaints to contact the event organisers Cuffe and Taylor, who have been approached for comment.

Cars trying to leave the car parkCars trying to leave the car park (Image: Kelly East)