Customers shopping at a supermarket this lunchtime found themselves gridlocked for nearly an hour. 

Motorists were stuck in the car park of the Sainsbury's store in Kidlington with eyewitness telling the Oxford Mail people were getting increasingly annoyed. 

Sainsbury's has apologised for the disruption and cited the nearby roadworks taking place on the A34 on the edge of Oxford for causing the issues. 

READ MORE: 'Frustrating' short notice for Botley Interchange work near Oxford

The A34 is closed between the Peartree and South Hinksey interchanges while gas company SGN is on site.

This has led to severe delays on the surrounding network including in Kidlington. 

One customer, who did not wish to be named, said he feared there would be an accident near the Sainsbury's store as a result of the delays. 

He added: "There is going to be an accident as cars are now leaving by the entrance on the Bicester Road.

"Customers are all out of their cars getting more and more annoyed. 

"Cars can’t get in via the entrance as cars are trying to leave that way. It is completely chaotic."

The shopper later added that he had been queuing to get out of the entrance on Bicester Road which was also gridlocked at around 1pm. 

A spokeswoman for Sainsbury's said: "Our Kidlington store car park is experiencing some delays due to roadworks in the area.

"We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

This is Oxfordshire: The Sainsbury's store in Kidlington The Sainsbury's store in Kidlington

There was subsequently a multi-vehicle crash on the A34 near Kidlington between the Kidlington junction and Peartree Interchange in the southbound carriageway. This crash was first reported by the AA at 3.15pm.

A statement from the AA added: "Weekend roadworks are not helping at all with the delays."

Ahead of the closure, SGN apologised to motorists in advance for any disruption which may arise. 

Bradley Barlow, a spokesman for SGN, said: "We’re sorry for the short notice informing the local community about this weekend’s work on the A34.

"Our works permit request was raised in recent weeks following local authority consent to proceed. We issued our statement as soon as our plan of work was finalised.

"As with our original work in the area last year, traffic marshals will be on site to allow residents of Stanley Close and the Southern Bypass Road to enter and exit onto the A34 via the hard shoulder."

A statement on the SGN website added: "Following our network enhancement project on the A34 in November 2023, we need to return this weekend to fully reinstate the road.

"For everyone's safety, we'll need to close both lanes of the southbound carriageway near Botley from 9pm on Friday, March 22 until 5am on Monday, March 25."