ENGLAND rugby fans weren't the only people suffering after last Saturday's loss to Ireland, says a woman who was trapped in her car by rugby crowds and incompetent policing'.

Joanna Wickham was returning to her home in St Margaret's on the afternoon of Twickenham stadium's latest match. "I thought I'd timed it just right to get through before the crowds left the game," said Miss Wickham. "And when I left Whitton, driving towards the stadium, there were police closing the road off but they weren't stopping cars yet. They let me and two others go through."

Miss Wickham proceeded along Whitton Road, passing the stadium, but the crowds began to emerge and the three cars became stuck before they could pass the mini roundabout at the end of Whitton Road.

"I managed to get out of my car and speak to the driver at the front to suggest we try beeping our horns and ploughing through, but he had been told by police that the road was shut off anyway. I was shocked by the incompetent policing; they'd let us in one end but then trapped us in at the other."

She struggled back to her car and locked the doors. "We were stuck in this crowd of 80,000 people, for well over a half an hour, and it was fairly horrendous really. I was a young woman on my own and the fans were all annoyed because England had lost, it was quite scary with people bashing into my car."

Chief Inspector Chris Phillips is in charge of rugby policing and sympathises with Miss Wickham's plight. He said: "The rugby is a huge public safety issue; we can not have cars mixing with thousands of people because someone will get hurt. That is why I have to close the roads around the stadium and into Twickenham town centre before and after a game."

He said the situation Miss Wickham found herself in last Saturday is exactly what they are trying to avoid. "How she got there I don't know," he added. "We have said to the officers that occasionally they can let people through, but only if the road's clear and the car is going only a few yards to get somewhere local. I imagine she went further than she should have and then there's nothing we can do once the area is swamped."

But Miss Wickham claims she did not speak to the police officers who let her though and was simply waved on.

Chief Inspector Phillips said they are taking further steps to avoid such situations by launching a new phone line for local people to call to get accurate information on days and times of road closures. Details of this will be published in the Richmond and Twickenham Times in the near future.