BARGAIN hunters looking to snap up a good deal at Cheshire Oaks on Black Friday today (November 29) are being urged to prepare for traffic congestion and delays.

Black Friday, the American custom recently introduced to these shores, sees retailers offering a pre-Christmas discount on a range of items, with many stores slashing prices today.

But that has resulted in traffic building up on the roads surrounding the McArthurGlen Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet, which recently held its popular Christmas lights switch-on event.

The AA Traffic News is reporting congestion on roads such as the nearby A5117, Stanney Lane and tailbacks on the M53 which stretch along the junction with the M56.

Bus operator Stagecoach has also said this on social media: "Due to very heavy traffic in and around Cheshire Oaks our service 2 between Chester and Runcorn and service 5 between Ellesmere Port and Mold is experiencing delays of up 30 mins; sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

A statement published on the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Cheshire Oaks Facebook page said: "There is some congestion today surrounding our local road networks due to the peak Black Friday sales period at McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Cheshire Oaks.

"To ensure minimum disruption we have implemented the Peak Traffic Management Plan that we developed alongside the Highways England, Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire Police that ensures traffic flows are managed accordingly during peak periods.

"We expect traffic to return to normal shortly with minimum delays to people’s journeys."

Adding to the congestion problems on Friday afternoon was a two-vehicle collision on the eastbound carriageway of the M56 by junction 14 (Hapsford services).

Two lanes were closed while police attended the scene.