FRUSTRATED shoppers were urged to contact Blackburn with Darwen Council after many were forced to queue for up to an hour to get out of a supermarket car park.

Traffic problems at the store car park in October 2004 stemmed from the opening of a B&Q store next to the Asda supermarket in Blackburn.

Managers at the store put the number of the council on the bottom of their till receipts after fielding countless calls from customers.

The council said the traffic signal timings are to blame.

They said in a statement: "This is the first few weeks of a new development and as such is going to be very popular but it is regrettable that Asda has taken this decision.

"Our officers have been in contact with the store and in response to concerns raised and arranged for a contractor to check and amend as necessary the traffic signal timings which may be responsible for the problems facing shoppers.

"However, whether there is a fault or not we will be looking to make adjustments to the signals anyway to take into account extra traffic flow during peak hours."

The message on the bottom of the receipts read: "Problems getting out of our car park? Please contact Highways Dept," followed by the number for the council's main switchboard.

Lancashire Telegraph photographers captured the mayhem at the store.

A spokeswoman for Asda said shoppers were frustrated after the lights were letting just two cars out of the car park at a time.

The store on Lower Audley Retail Park say when the problem is resolved, they would be willing to replace the contact number on the bottom of the receipt with a thank you note to the highways department. on the bottom of the receipt.

"The issue had nothing to do with us, it was a matter for the council.

"Our customer service manager just wanted to resolve the issue," she said.

"The decision was taken by the whole store, we're just looking after our customers."