Shoppers were trapped in a notorious Huddersfield car park for well over an hour as angry motorists battled for space.

The traffic woes at Great Northern Retail Park struck again on Sunday afternoon, the Examiner has learned.

One mum has told how she spent an hour-and-a-half stuck in her car on her son’s 12th birthday.

The retail park off Leeds Road has become infamous for its gridlock, with huge waits to get out at peak times such as Christmas and Easter sales.

But it is currently a mystery why the problem flared up again this weekend as there were no sales on or events nearby.

Great Northern Retail Park, Leeds Road, Huddersfield.

Niki Trepak, 34, of Crosland Moor, said the mayhem had begun when she drove in to take her son Bradley to Sports Direct to buy him a birthday present.

All the aisles were already blocked and she decided to immediately try and drive out again.

But it was a stunning 90 minutes before she got back to the exit at Leeds Road, just a few hundred metres away.

The Examiner reported last April that plans to widen the exit to two lanes had been lodged with Kirklees Council.

Great Northern Retail Park, Leeds Road, Huddersfield.

The idea, which includes two new “pod” restaurants, will see 103 parking spaces lost as the area bordering the edge of the park by the canal is re-designed.

The retail park’s managers have been given the green light and are thought to be planning construction work in the near future.

Niki said she felt a second exit was needed.

“If it’s like that now what’s it going to be like at Christmas?” she said.

Traffic at Great Northern Retail Park

Niki said once she realised it would be impossible to park her boyfriend and son had jumped out to go look for a present.

But by the time they had done their shopping, some 20 minutes later, she had not moved at all.

She said: “Because nobody would give way, it was at a standstill.

“I didn’t move the whole time they were in there.

“Everyone was beeping and shouting at each other.

“At the PC World end, people weren’t getting anywhere because the drivers nearer the exit weren’t giving way.

“Everyone were being stubborn idiots.

“It was so bad the staff at PC World came out to take pictures.

“Meanwhile my son’s 12th birthday was spent sat in a car park.”

One theory for Sunday’s gridlock is that roadworks further down Leeds Road may have been a factor.

Niki said only three cars were managing to leave the retail park each time the lights went green as traffic was also blocking the roundabout just outside the park.

The Examiner has asked Kirklees Council and the managers of the park to comment.