ORGANISERS of last weekend's British Superbike Championship event have rejected claims that it caused traffic chaos.

About 35,000 people descended on Croft Circuit, near Darlington, for the contest, being held in the North-East for the first time.

Major delays on roads surrounding the circuit were reported. The A66 east as far as Darlington Football Club's arena and the A66 west towards the A1(M) were gridlocked.

Traffic also came to a halt on the A167 as far as the Blackwell Grange hotel in Darlington, and on Saturday afternoon an accident involving a motorbike and a car, on the A167, south of the circuit, caused further delays.

Reporter David Roberts was stuck in the gridlock for hours.

It took him two hours to travel the four-mile journey from Darlington to Hurworth, and the 20-minute drive from Darlington to Northallerton took him more than two-and-a-half hours.

But Clare Jones, spokesman for the circuit, said several e-mails were received on Monday morning from spectators impressed with the way traffic was handled.

She said: "We were very pleased with the attendance of the crowd.

"The traffic flow coming into the circuit was fine.

"Once traffic left the circuit it became the responsibility of the police to keep it moving, which I think they did very well. I think overall it was handled very well."

But Richmondshire district councillor Jane Parlour, who lives in Croft, said: "From about 8.30am onwards, cars were nose to tail past my house. I can't imagine it was very pleasant for the people stuck in their vehicles. These roads simply don't have the capacity to handle an event that can attract up to 40,000 people.

"We have never had a meeting as big as this one before at Croft. This is what happens when there is a major motor racing circuit in an area not serviced by public transport."

Officers from six forces came together to manage the thousands of cars and motorbikes arriving at the circuit.

Police and event organisers drew up a detailed traffic management scheme to ease visitors' entry and exit to the rural track.

Sgt Alison Jackson, of Darlington police, said: "The road policing unit were out trying to do as much as possible to keep the traffic moving. We tried to help wherever possible, but the sheer volume of traffic was causing some problems."