CUSTOMERS at a new drive-thru restaurant and take-away near the M65 found themselves in an unexpected traffic jam at the weekend.

Drivers faced waits of up to an hour and half at a new KFC restaurant in Blackburn on Saturday as their fast food ended up stuck in the slow lane.

A spokesman for the company admitted to teething problems with their halal fried chicken delicacies but said the problems were over and the outlet was now bubbling along nicely.

The new KFC at the new service area near Blackburn’s Whitebirk junction six of the M65 opened last week.

One customer who went there on Saturday evening said: “Everyone in the restaurant was waiting for food when I went in. I was told there is an hour and a half wait for the food.”

“There were a lot of people just sat waiting for food. I did say this is supposed to be a fast food restaurant.

“The drive-thru queue was really long but we didn’t see anyone getting any food.”

The KFC is part of the £100million 90-acre Frontier Park development.

A KFC spokesperson said: “Our Blackburn fans came out in force at the weekend to visit our new restaurant and we can’t deny it – we were a little overwhelmed by their love for fried chicken.

“We’re sorry that some fans had to wait a little longer than usual and thank them for their patience. We’re back on track now and can’t wait to welcome even more guests to our Blackburn Whitebirk restaurant.”

The service area, on the Blackburn/Hyndburn border, includes a BP filling station, Spar shop, Subway and Totally Wicked vaping concessions and Starbucks and Greggs drive-thrus.

The Euro-Garages development aims to create 2,000 jobs by 2022 at five warehouses, a 150-bedroom hotel, and conference and banqueting centre.