The opening of a bus lane that caused “hours of gridlock” over the weekend can now be used by all vehicles following multiple complaints.

Cars and buses were stuck in Harrow town centre for several hours on Saturday (June 15) as drivers tried to deal with a new bus lane in College Road.

Derek Miles, who witnessed the traffic, said the whole area near Roxborough Bridge was “at a standstill”.

He added that people were “trapped” inside multi-storey car parks and regular bus services – including those going to Northwick Park Hospital – were severely disrupted.

“It was really, really drastic. I’m not just talking about a small delay or a couple of roads, it was the whole town,” he said.

Mr Miles said he understands the need to manage traffic but accused the council of failing to address the road situation while continuing to approve housing schemes.

He added: “Harrow has lost some of its car parks, but many new tower blocks have been built. There is no new road structure which has caused chaos.”

Harrow Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID) confirmed that the bus lane would be open to all from 5.30pm today (June 18).

“This decision was made after working closely with the local council on resolving the road issues that have been causing traffic problems over the last few weeks,” it said in a statement.

The initial changes were part of a trial scheme aimed at improving traffic flow in the area.

Following the issues, a joint decision was taken involving the police, Harrow Council, Harrow BID and Transport for London to revert to the original system.