Festivalgoers bemoan 'chaotic' Latitude traffic delays

Festivalgoer James Adamczuk is attending Latitude with his wife Trina and young daughter

Disgruntled music fans said they had to endure hours of "chaotic" traffic delays while driving to Latitude Festival.

Organisers behind the arts and culture event put the extra congestion down to "weather conditions and localised flooding".

Some festivalgoers told the BBC they had grown so fed-up with waiting in tailbacks near the Henham Park site they instead found hotels to stay in.

On social media, a spokesperson for the festival said: "We have worked as hard as we can to mitigate the traffic and to get everyone into the festival. Thank you for your patience."

Henham Park has been home to the Latitude Festival since it started in 2006

James Adamczuk described the traffic as "pretty bad".

"It took us about two and a half hours to get in from the last six miles," he told the BBC.

"It was a bit chaotic and everything literally ground to a halt - but what can you do? You just have to be patient.

"It was exacerbated by the rain and mud at the time but I think they could have put temporary traffic lights in and or stewards could have made it a little better."

Scott Siwicki said it took him four hours to get into the site from the nearby A145

Scott Siwicki said he was queuing to get on to the A145 and into the event for more than four hours.

"That's for a couple of miles, not the full trip," he told the BBC.

"There was no traffic control or marshals and unfortunately the problem stemmed from vehicles getting stuck at the entry point."

According to reports on social media, some festivalgoers faced delays of up to six hours from the likes of Woodbridge and Dereham.

Another said she opted to turn her back on the traffic and booked into a Travelodge in Ipswich after hitting standstill traffic on the A12 about seven miles from the site.

"The only update we got was just after 22:00 BST when we arrived at the hotel, but it was too little too late," she said.

"I get challenges happen but I'm appalled by the lack of communication - it is unacceptable."

Sting, formerly of The Police, will bring his Sting 3.0 show to Suffolk this evening

This year's event is being headlined by Sting, Fatboy Slim, and Snow Patrol and is expected to attract 40,000 people each day.

After Thursday's traffic issues, campervan and motorhome users are being urged to use Orange Gate 1 on the A145 to gain access, while day and weekend ticketholders should continue to use the A12.

Latitude Festival was contacted for further comment.