A SUNNY bank holiday Monday is enough to put a smile on most people’s faces, but for residents surrounding Frensham Ponds the traffic caused chaos.

One motorists’ dashcam footage showed vehicles parked on both sides of the A287 on double yellow lines, restricting access along a 60mph road and blocking several roads.

A van was even seen parked in front of an emergency fire access route, while other vehicles used the green outside St Mary’s C of E Infant School as a car park.

One Facebook user posted in the Farnham Rants group after he’d had to “manage the traffic for 20 minutes as it was complete gridlock”.

He said: “Signs and road markings ignored and lots of litter left by the side of the road which was very sad. It’s a beautiful place and totally abused today.”

It was rumoured that a horse box had scraped some of the cars parked on double yellows, but leader of Waverley Borough Council (WBC), Julia Potts, told the Herald it was actually a fire engine.

Paul Murray is a resident who has struggled in the past with the volume of traffic surrounding Frensham Little Pond.

He said: “It was horrible down here again over the weekend; gridlocked with traffic, entrance down to my property blocked again by several cars, others just parked over footpaths, bridleways, off road and thus damaging saplings and vegetation.

“Again all vehicles illegally parked on a rural clearway, the police did attend but didn’t do anything. When I asked why, the reply given was that ‘there are too many cars to deal with and we will just monitor the situation’. I think this is a very strange excuse, a few tickets is a very good example and this deterrent has worked wonders in the past.”

In response to Monday’s traffic chaos, a spokesperson for Surrey Police said: “The good weather over the bank holiday attracted even more visitors to Frensham Ponds and this caused a considerable increase in the number of vehicles in the area. Officers were deployed to the location but the number of vehicles in the location was unprecedented.

“Much of the work that needs to be completed revolves around educating motorists of the problems they cause when parking anti-socially and continuing to work with partners to minimise the opportunities for vehicles to park on the rural freeways.”

WBC is responsible for managing Frensham Great Pond and Common. A spokesperson said: “Unfortunately some visitors chose to park on the lanes that access the site, over the boundary ditches and on the protected heathland. Their selfish and careless actions could have put people’s lives in danger if there was an emergency as the lanes are designated rural clearways so that emergency vehicles can access them at all times.

“Parking on the protected heathland damages the natural habitats and wildlife, which we work so hard to conserve and look after.”

Traffic wasn’t the only issue angering locals on Monday - the vast amounts of litter left at both the Great and Little Ponds, as well as Tilford and Hankley Common, were described as “yucky” and “disgusting” on social media.

One Facebook user picked up litter at Hankley Common and posted in the Elstead Village group: “Seriously sad that people can’t be bothered to take their rubbish away. They have clearly enjoyed a day in the sun - why destroy it!”

Another had been doing the same at Tilford Green and commented: “While I’m glad that it’s extra revenue for the pub and the shop, I’m in despair that people see fit to leave nappies, towels, spent BBQs, etc.”

It was left to WBC rangers, who spent the entire day clearing rubbish, and residents to pick up the mess, a huge pile of which can be seen pictured above.

The WBC spokesperson added: “There were six 1,100 litre bins provided on the site this weekend, however there was enough rubbish left by visitors across the site to fill at least 14 of these bins. We’d like to say a special thank you to those lovely people who helped to pick up some of the rubbish left by others on the beach.

“We appreciate that people want to visit and enjoy this site, but we would ask them to do so responsibly. Please only park in the car park and take litter home or put it in a bin.”