Safari park hits record
Record numbers of visitors headed to the West Midland Safari Park to see its rare white lion cubs, causing traffic jams around Kidderminster for hours yesterday.
The ring road was snarled up from Station Hill to the Park Butts island for much of the day as thousands descended on the Bewdley attraction.
Traffic was causing problems as far back as Hagley where many cars were heading along the Kidderminster Road towards Bewdley.
Bosses at the safari park said there were no problems getting in and out of the main entrance. But traffic was forced to turn left when leaving the park sending traffic towards the Bewdley bypass. This sent extra traffic towards Wribbenhall and onto the bypass.
The Kingdom of the White Lion proved a major draw for the public. The cubs were born in August and unveiled for the first time this Spring. They are soon to be joined by two more cubs who were born in January.
Safari Park spokeswoman Wendy Jackson said: "We had a record number of visitors for an Easter bank holiday weekend and were putting it down to the white lion cubs.
"There were no problems with traffic around the site. Everything moved freely and we're not aware of any traffic problems on the main road outside."
But Kidderminster salesman Mark Dearden, aged 25, said he was forced on a two-mile detour as he tried to drive between Franche and Birmingham Road.
Mr Dearden said: "It was absolute chaos. All the traffic was heading towards Bewdley and it was really frustrating for drivers going elsewhere.
"I had to drive through the side and back roads which took me twice as long to get home. It's going to be chaotic during the summer school holidays if this happens all the time."
Meanwhile, more than 15,000 people piled into Dudley Zoo to take advantage of the bright sunshine during the Easter break – 20 per cent up on last year.
