Weymouth residents say it is ‘chaos’ after coaches transporting cruise ship passengers caused traffic mayhem in residential streets.

Thousands of new visitors have arrived into the town as Portland Port welcomed several large vessels in recent days.

This is providing a great boost for Weymouth and Portland with visitors spending money in the area - however the issue of transporting tourists between the ships and the resort to go sightseeing has led to problems in Rodwell Avenue, where coaches drop off and pick up passengers.

Residents say there are ‘unbelievable queues’ of people, some of them elderly, along the route and in nearby Newtons Road and The Maltings.

Coaches have been unable to manoeuvre due to the small roads and large volume of vehicles descending on the street, which has double yellow lines.

The problem was said to be ‘particularly bad’ when two cruise ships from Germany and the US brought in thousands of people to Weymouth and Portland, causing mayhem on nearby streets and traffic to weave in and out of coaches.

Weymouth town councillor Cllr Luke Wakeling says he has had been contacted by irate residents and was hoping the situation would be resolved soon.

He has received a joint email from residents in nearby Mount Street who have described the situation at the bottom of Rodwell Avenue as a 'chaotic situation'.

“This year the port has gone from one cruise ship at a time to two, which means there are thousands more passengers,” he said.

“It is good for the town but there needs to be more consideration for how we are getting them in and out.

“The next cruise ships are expected on Tuesday so we will see if anything has been done to improve the situation.

“We hope these are just teething issues and we can iron them out quickly. Everyone is aware of the situation.”

Cllr Wakeling said that part of the problem is several buses, even up to 10, turning up at once, and thinks spreading them out will help resolve the issues.

He has requested a meet-up with the port and the council and says he has received some responses to say that things are being ‘looked at’.

“It is a bit of a shock when it is normally such a quiet street,” he added. “Some of the coach drivers just leave their engines on for 30 minutes while they wait.

“It is just about finding a way to manage all of this.”

One resident said: "There were unbelievable queues of passengers along Rodwell Avenue up Newtons Road and into The Maltings; lucky for them it wasn't raining that day. Some of the people are elderly with walking frames and are standing for a long time there."

They added: "We are totally in favour of the business that the cruise ships bring to the Weymouth area but question whether better alternative drop off and pick up points could be found for this operation. There will be a repeat of total chaos very soon."

A Portland Port spokesman said: “The port is aware of the issue regarding some coaches and is currently working closely with Dorset Council in order to deliver a satisfactory solution.”

A Dorset Council spokesperson said: “We were made aware, and have been monitoring the cruise ship travel plans which have been causing road safety issues on Rodwell Avenue in Weymouth. We are working with Portland Port and the local taxi providers to manage the situation for this year.”