‘Absolute bedlam’ at Cheltenham Festival with racegoers ‘stuck everywhere with no help’ after torrential rainfall
CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL racegoers were stuck in the mud for hours amid "absolute bedlam" in the car park.
Just over 60,000 people descended on the racecourse for the opening day.
Many of them headed for the car park after the end of the meeting - and struggled to leave in chaotic scenes regularly spotted at racecourses across the country.
A combination of hundreds of cars, the heavy rainfall in Gloucestershire and boggy fields contributed to a nightmare end to what had been a great day's racing for visitors.
One shared a video of hundreds of stationary vehicles queuing to leave as darkness descended.
The racing fan wrote: "Racing finished an hour and 10 mins ago.
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"Absolute bedlam in the car park. No cars moving at all, stuck everywhere with no help.
"£30 per car. Come racing they say!!!!"
He later added another clip of more long queues and added: "Update lads… 2 hours after racing. Car still down the hill and no movement whatsoever."
Plenty of others also took to X to vent their frustration.
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Another wrote: "Trying to exit the Cheltenham Festival…
"The car park is a swamp with endless cars unable to move because of the mud and there are no staff helping anyone apart from one tractor bringing cars up and adding to the chaotic traffic jam trying to exit… Not good enough."
And a third commented: "Thank you Cheltenham drop off and pick up car park been sat in taxi for 45 mins and hardly moved. Shocking organisation."
Earlier in the day, BBC commentator John Hunt's car got stranded in the squelchy muck by the main entrance - before it started sinking in worrying scenes.
The area was lashed with constant downpours in the lead-up to Champion Day.
The famous course was declared heavy and soft in places - although the Cross Country track was deemed waterlogged.
But that did not stop punters and celebrities alike braving the rain and dressing up for the big day - including Zara and Mike Tindall.
