Thousands head to Yorkshire Show

The congestion was made worse by road works on the roundabout

Thousands of visitors heading for the 151st Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate caused tailbacks of up to 20 miles.

Traffic began building up from early morning and peaked with queues stretching back to York's outer ring road before easing later.

The congestion was made worse by road works which should not have been there.

North Yorkshire County Council said contractors did not have permission to carry out minor white lining work on the A59/A1 roundabout.

Contractors 'evicted'

David Bowe, assistant director of highways and transportation at the council, said: "They had no permission to be on site today.

"The county council were not aware they were going to be on site.

"Clearly the contractors who were in the area had been advised to stay off the highways during the Great Yorkshire Show so how it's happened I can honestly not explain that.

"As soon as we knew there was a problem we sent someone out to effectively evict them from the carriageway.

"They were moved off the site and now there is a discussion as to the implications for the future."

More than 120,000 people are expected to head for the showground on the edge of Harrogate over the next three days.

Extra traffic officers have been drafted in by the Highways Agency to help cope with the influx of vehicles.

Visitors to the three-day show have been urged to leave their cars at home, or consider car-sharing.

There are shuttle buses to the showground from Harrogate bus station and Hornbeam Park railway station.

Discounts are available through Northern Rail if rail ticket and show tickets are booked at the same time.