'Do not drive' warning issued for Manchester city centre

Visitors are being urged not to drive to Manchester city centre on Saturday. Travel bosses have issued a warning to anyone who is heading into town, as Christmas looms closer and the weather is due to take a wild turn.

Storm Darragh is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to much of the UK including Manchester, with a weather warning in force for the whole of Saturday (December 7). Meanwhile, the city will be packed with Christmas shoppers and partygoers.

There are just three Saturdays left before December 25, with city centre streets expected to be heaving with shoppers on each of them, while millions of people are expected to enjoy the famous Christmas markets before they close later this month. Football fans will descend on the city, as Manchester United host Nottingham Forest at 5.30pm tomorrow.

READ MORE: Warnings issued for flooding and 'risk to life' ahead of Storm Darragh

And music lovers will also arrive in big numbers, with Sam Fender playing at Co-op Live on Saturday night, while Pete Tong hosts Ibiza Classics 2024 at AO Arena. It's a perfect storm that looks set to create gridlock on Manchester's roads tomorrow.

Transport for Greater Manchester has now issued a warning urging people not to travel to Manchester by car on Saturday. It warns drivers could be faced with delays of an hour if they decide not to use public transport.

A post from the Bee Network on X this morning (Friday) says: "Traffic in the city centre will be severely congested on Saturday. Please do not drive into the city, your journey could take an hour longer than normal.

"Use the outer ring road for cross-city car journeys. Tram travel will be the quickest way in and out of the city."