STAFF at Tesco Superstore in Chepstow were praised by shoppers and residents for their assistance with traffic congestion on Sunday, June 15.

A road traffic incident had resulted in a road closure on Highbeech roundabout, which led to a large build up of traffic inside the superstore car park.

The team’s car park assistants helped customers and reassured them Tesco was doing everything it could to help.

Tesco said store staff offered shoppers the opportunity to return to their cars later when the roads had cleared, and contacted the car park monitoring company to prevent any unwanted car parking fines for exceeding the time limit of using the car park.

Shoppers also reported staff were providing them with water, and directing traffic to try to ease the congestion.

Taking to a social media community group, some residents said “well done Tesco!” and praised the “lovely staff”.

The news of the congestion comes following a recent report of gridlock near the same roundabout, igniting calls once again for a Chepstow bypass.

Cllr Nick Evans (Conservative, Tidenham) said: "It's wonderful to see the community binding together and Tesco being a 'good neighbour' by helping people who have been left stranded. But if this disruption had happened this week, when temperatures are set to rise and a heat health-warning has been issued, being trapped in a car for hours on end like this could pose a serious risk to vulnerable people.

"This sort of disruption is happening too frequently, and it’s people in our community who have to pay the price. Our councils and governments know what will solve this problem, but they are just kicking the can down the road.

“A lot of work on a Chepstow bypass has already been done. It's sat there on the shelf, it just requires the moral courage to start turning the decades of talk into a reality."