Hundreds of people have joined an online campaign calling for improvements to the junction for Bicester Village.

A resident has also launched a petition in efforts to solve the problem.

During the post-Christmas sales, motorists caused gridlock on the A41 as they tried to get into the designer outlet village in Pingle Drive.

traffic queued back to the motorway junction on Boxing Day, causing jams on the M40 and A34, and locals were forced to cut through nearby villages – to the dismay of residents.

About 1,300 people have joined the campaign on social networking site Facebook.

Ann Parker, 54, of Kings End, has also launched a petition.

She said: “We can never get out of our house especially at weekends or Bank Holiday.

“The whole town is gridlocked. You can’t get to Tesco and it’s blocked back to the motorway.

“A friend who lives in Caversfield went to Tesco in Buckingham because it was quicker. It’s just a nightmare.”

Meanwhile residents in Chesterton and Little Chesterton had abuse shouted at them by drivers and watched a double-decker bus and lorries use the single track road in a bid to avoid the queuing traffic.

Chesterton Parish Council chairman Colin Board said: “It was absolutely dreadful.

“The biggest issue was Little Chesterton.

“For the first time ever a double-decker bus drove through — that’s a single track road — and a couple of lorries. One person, while walking through the village, counted 36 cars which overtook him.”

Business analyst Mrs Parker said one day during the Christmas break about eight cars had parked on the grass verge on the side of the A41 and their occupants had walked to Bicester Village.

She plans to drop copies of her petition in local shops and open an online petition.

Facebook comments included one by Kirstie Surman, who said: “One of the things that really gets on my wick (apart from not being able to just go to Tesco) is that people block the roundabout when you want to go straight over it... even though there’s a keep clear area!”

Bicester Village spokesman Miranda Markham said: “The volume of customers visiting Bicester Village between Boxing Day and the New Year exceeded our expectations.

“We are continuing to work closely with the county council on practical solutions to ease traffic flows to help minimise disruption in the future.

“We are also implementing changes to encourage customers to shop during weekdays and avoid the busy weekend and Bank Holiday periods, as well as promoting the train and taxi bus service between Bicester North station and Bicester Village.”