CUSTOMERS rushing to get their last Big Mac or Happy Meal from the Trowbridge branch of McDonalds before it shuts in the coronavirus outbreak are causing traffic hold-ups on one of the main roads.

Traffic caused tailbacks of up to 15 minutes on Bradley Road for at least an hour today, with other drivers frustrated at finding the queue was not for an accident but because of retail park traffic, the like of which is normally only seen on a Saturday or Bank Holiday.

At 2pm traffic heading back into Trowbridge was backed up as far as College Road, while in the North Bradley direction at some times queues stretched back across the roundabout at the entrance to the White Horse Business Park as cars could not get into the right turn lane for the retail park.

The queue at McDonalds, which was closed for counter service but like other branches is keeping its drive-thru open until later today, appeared to be responsible for the snarl-up, rather than panic buying at stores.

The line of cars waiting for the order windows stretched right round the building and out onto the road. The drive-thru queue at Kentucky Fried Chicken on the other side of the park was very short, with Costa's coffee and snack bar having already closed its doors.

Staff from the restaurant could be seen carrying orders in bags out of the closed doors, which bore a notice announcing the closure, to cars which had been through the drive-thru and were parked in spaces in the main car park waiting for their burgers and other meals to be prepared.

The rest of the car park had plenty of spaces and there were no signs of queues of people at any of the other stores on the retail park, even though several stock items which people have been panic-buying, such as toilet rolls, bread and tinned food.

Trowbridge is not the only town to report queues of traffic at McDonalds, with similar scenes at branches up and down the country as customers rush to get their favourite taste of their go-to burger before i's too late - or stocks run out.