TRAFFIC chaos surrounded the British Superbike Championship yesterday when the competition was staged in the North-East for the first time.

Up to 40,000 spectators travelled to the event at Croft Circuit, near Darlington, which resulted in large traffic jams.

Yesterday morning, cars were backed up on the A167 as far as the Blackwell Grange hotel, in Darlington, and it was gridlock on the A66 as far back as Darlington Football Club's arena, and on to the A66 road from the A1(M).

Northern Echo reporter David Roberts said it took him two hours to travel four miles from Darlington to Hurworth.

He said: "It was just a nightmare. I was stuck in traffic from Coniscliffe Road, in Darlington, to after the turn-off to Croft Circuit.

"There were queues on the A167 travelling north to Croft as well, but they did not seem as bad.

"There were plenty of police officers around, but I think the volume of traffic meant there was not much they could do.

"There were some signs just outside Hurworth warning motorists that delays could be expected, but I had already been stuck in traffic for two hours by the time I got there."

Sergeant Alison Jackson, of Darlington police, said the roads were chaotic from Darlington to Croft Circuit.

She said: "The road policing unit were out trying to do as much as possible to keep the traffic moving.

"We tried to help wherever possible, but the sheer volume of traffic was causing some problems."

Richmondshire District Councillor Jane Parlour said: "Residents have said all along the roads in the vicinity of the racetrack do not have the capacity to cope with this amount of traffic.

"We have never had a meeting as big as this one before at Croft. This is what happens when there is a major motorracing circuit in an area not serviced by public transport, with a poor road infrastructure."

No one at Croft Circuit was available for comment last night.