A system malfunction has caused chaos at the multi-storey car park at Stevenage’s Lister Hospital today.

A technical fault with the entry system has allowed too many cars into the car park, with not enough spaces available – resulting in total traffic gridlock.

Patient Malcolm Gray said: “I have been here for an hour and 15 minutes and nothing is moving. There are no parking spaces and people wanting to leave can’t reverse because of queues of cars behind them.

“People are going to miss their appointments, and all the time my parking fee is clocking up and I haven’t even parked.

“There are no members of staff anywhere to be seen.”

A spokesman for the East and North Herts NHS Trust, which runs the Lister, said: “A key component at the Lister’s multi-storey car park - the system that counts cars in and out - developed a technical fault this morning, which allowed too many cars to enter the facility – more than the spaces available.

“The parking attendant team is managing the flow in and out of the car park, whilst an engineer repairs the fault.”

He added: “Those who had to wait to leave the car park were not charged for the additional time and the Trust apologises for any inconvenience caused. ”