Staff at Le Creuset cookware store in Andover have confessed that the weekend sale, which caused traffic chaos, was ‘mayhem’, with some shoppers trying to pay to jump the queue.

The French cookware brand slashed prices by up to 50 percent on some of its kitchen items, prompting some customers to drive over 200 miles to snap up a bargain.

Hampshire Police began receiving reports just before 10am on Saturday morning, (November 9) as local roads were deluged with traffic.

Heavy queues were reported on Columbus Way, Doughty Way, Andover Down Roundabout, the A3039 and London Road.

(Image: Caroline Simpson)

Le Creuset’s Head of Marketing, Marianna Spiliotopoulos, explained that the crowds descending on the warehouse caught them unaware. She said: “We weren’t expecting the huge number of shoppers, we were surprised at how many customers appeared.

"We are very grateful for the police’s help.”

One shop floor worker who didn’t want to be named, admitted: “There were people trying to bribe their way in. It was the first time I’ve worked during the sale and it was chaos, absolute mayhem, I was very surprised at how many people turned up, people were queuing in their hundreds.”

Mrs Spiliotopoulos admitted that they had learned their lesson: “We had about 35 people working in the store on both Saturday and Sunday, but we'll look to increase that number. We’ll also need to look at how we lay out the store and the parking area. We also need to look at managing traffic flow.

"We may introduce ticketing so that shoppers have dedicated time slots.

"We thank all our customers for their patience, many queued for several hours and some had to return to the store after going home. We’re sorry that some shoppers didn’t manage to visit the store.

"We did our best but we were rushed off our feet.”   

This is the second Le Creuset warehouse sale in Andover this year, following one in March.

The company has been based in the town for 45 years and employs 80 members of staff at its local headquarters.