TRAFFIC issues were top of the batting order last night as angry West End residents delivered a fierce volley of verbal shots at Hampshire County Cricket Club chiefs.

They came eye ball to eye ball just days after the first England one day international at the Rose Bowl brought traffic mayhem to the area.

There was virtual gridlock around the state-of-the-art ground as a sell-out crowd of 16,000 flocked to see Test superstars like Michael Vaughan and Andrew Flintoff in action.

Police described the situation as "horrendous" as traffic jammed junctions 7 and 8 of the M27 where cricket fans were trying to turn off for the ground or head for buses at Bursledon.

Last night villagers, who were caught up in the traffic nightmare, were not in a forgiving mood as they packed the West End Parish Centre for a showdown meeting.

The move to clear the air between cricket club and residents came from West End councillor Steve Broomfield who was keen to get both sides together to tackle the thorny issues.

Feelings ran high during the two hour debate as speaker after speaker drove home their complaints which ranged from noisy fireworks to cars parking across their driveways on match days.

Rose Bowl bosses - managing director Nick Pike and projects manager Geoff Cox - went home with the loud message ringing in their ears that residents wanted a speedy solution to the escalating traffic problems.

Parish council chairman Councillor Neville Dickinson spoke of how the village authority was receiving more complaints from parishioners on the Rose Bowl's activities. He said the biggest problem was traffic.

He said that two recent Daily Echo articles had listed numerous leisure facilities to be developed at the Rose Bowl but added: "Little if any car parking or road infrastructure was mentioned."

Kerry Payne, chairman of the Telegraph Wood Residents Association, spoke of the traffic chaos at the England fixture. It had become so jammed that vehicles could not get up or down some roads.

He explained that after the England game had been rained off thousands of people came out of the ground and did not know where to go because of the lack of direction signs.

Mr Payne said: "Swarms of people went into West End centre. There were also cars parked across pavements."

Other residents spoke of how they felt imprisoned in their roads on big match days because they could not get out of their driveways.

Another villager said her peace had been shattered by the noise from the Rose Bowl which she claimed was threatening to turn the village into a city centre.

Demanding action over the traffic congestion, another angry parishioner said: "Unless you get the traffic out of the area you will not have a satisfied community."

Fielding questions on behalf of the club, Mr Pike said: "With the park-and-ride we are trying to keep as much of the traffic out of the community.

"There will be congestion but we can improve the levels of flow."

Mr Pike said he respected everyone in the community and was determined to minimise the impact.

Hedge End based police inspector Paul Newstead explained how measures were being taken to minimise the traffic impact on the area.

He also gave an assurance that they could get emergency vehicles through the congested roads in cases where someone might have had a heart attack.

Pressed on future plans for the Rose Bowl Mr Pike said that they would want to hold one or two concerts a year.

He added: "If you are asking me whether we are going to become another Wembley Arena then my reply would be an emphatic no."

They also did not have any plans to host large firework parties.

Community leaders and Rose Bowl officials are set for a return match after the go-ahead was given last night to set up a liaison panel.