There was chaos as McDonald’s reopened its Stevenston branch last week.

A queue so long that it looped round the entrance to the Hawkhill Retail Park and at times blocked the roundabout formed as the fast-food restaurant began serving again.

On Wednesday, the day after the branch opened, a member of staff told the Herald: “It’s absolutely chaotic and we are rushed off our feet.”

Clark Gillies was headed to B&M with his daughter having visited his gran in Kilwinning when he saw police cars blocking the road.

He said: “At first I thought it was an incident happening but it turned out they were controlling access to the McDonald’s.

“Police had completely closed the road. People were actually parking in the houses next to the roundabout waiting for them to reopen it.”

Clark was there to pick up some seeds for his garden and chocolate for his seven-year-old daughter. He had to park over in the nearby estate before walking to the store.

He said: “We walked up to B&M thinking it was closed, and even when inside we thought we had walked in after they had shut as it was completely empty.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Police attended at both Hawkhill Retail Park, Stevenston and Riverway Retail Park, Irvine after receiving reports of increased congestion as a result of both McDonalds re-opening for drive-thrus.

“Police remained at both locations providing traffic management to mitigate disruption.”

A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “With restaurant teams adjusting to new procedures, things may take a little longer – and demand has already been very high. We are aware of some queues, and we have been working closely with local authorities and the police to manage traffic.

”We’d like to thank customers for their continued patience.”