CITY centre workers are facing rush hour chaos as hordes of football fans have brought tram services to a halt.

Metrolink operator Stagecoach said they have been forced to stop city centre services indefinitely today because throngs of supporters are blocking the lines.

Meanwhile coach loads of fans risked missing tonight's match after getting stuck in huge tailbacks following a pile-up on the M6. The motorway was down to one lane, northbound between junction 18, Middlewich, and junction 17, Sandbach, and the slip road was closed to traffic for around two hours. One delivery driver who was transporting merchandise to the City of Manchester Stadium for the Uefa clash said the delays stretched back up to 60 miles.

In the city centre, Metrolink staff were working with police to flag trams through Piccadilly Gardens but the decision to stop services was taken on safety grounds at 2pm.

Services will run from Altrincham and Eccles to Manchester Central and Victoria to Bury but all other lines through the city will stay down until further notice.

The 50 metre stretch between Piccadilly and Market Street, extending toward Moseley Street, has been worse affected with trams moving slowly since lunchtime.

Stagecoach Metrolink duty manager Mike Thompson said they would clear the city of any trams before stopping services. He added: "We have been resorting to old fashioned methods with staff on the ground flagging trams through affected areas but it is just too dangerous and we have had to take the decision to cease services.

"We are asking commuters to be patient but we cannot run an unsafe service. We will return services to normal as soon as fans have been moved on and it is safe to do so."

Jonathan Williams, stuck on the M6, said: "There are coaches and cars full of fans wanting to get to Manchester for the match but it looks like a lot of people could be very disappointed. We've been stuck here over and hour and no-one's going anywhere. People have parked up their cars and are out in the sunshine - all we need now is a barbecue and a big screen."

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "There was an accident involving three or four cars around 1pm and two people were trapped. We have managed to reopen the inside lane but clear-up is still taking place meaning there is a lot of traffic down to one lane. No one has been seriously injured."

The M6 was reopened at 2.45pm and tail backs are now clearing.




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