Festive Coca-Cola lorry delivers Newport traffic woe

THERE was evening rushhour traffic chaos in Newport yesterday, partly caused by people flocking to see a Christmas Coca-Cola truck at a supermarket car-park.

Hundreds of people queued on Tesco’s Harlech Retail Park site, some for more than an hour, to have their picture taken with the replica illuminated lorry used on the drink’s television advert.

Store spokeswoman Rhian Jones said it stopped in Newport as part of a UK tour.

The store had sectioned off the car park for the event between 4pm and 8pm. There was also a fake snowmachine.

Ms Jones said: “People started turning up at around 3pm.

“We weren’t expecting such a huge turnout and I think we will have had nearly 1,000 people here.”

Royal Gwent midwife Lisa Hammett, 35, who was with her family, said it took her 40 minutes just to get from the hospital to Tesco at 5pm.

Some drivers ended up abandoning their cars and walking to the store.

Motorway drivers also faced delays on the M4 eastbound, following an earlier accident at junction 23A when a lorry and a car collided at 1.53pm.

No-one was injured.

Traffic officers were also called to the slip road of junction 26 on the same side, to recover a vehicle at 5.13pm.