Police hinted at possible breaches of government guidelines on a day when huge numbers people flocked to Richmond Park.

All car parks hit capacity by 10.45am today (Saturday, November 7), there was "gridlock" in Roehampton and motorists were being rejected from entering the park at Richmond Gate.

Yesterday the Royal Parks encouraged visitors to "leave your car at home" and the charity's prediction of heavy congestion on nearby residential roads proved correct.

A post on the Richmond Park Facebook page shortly after 12.30pm read: "Police have closed Ham Gate to Ham Cross and there is currently no vehicle access.

"There are extremely long queues from Pembroke Lodge to Richmond Gate and the car park is full, requiring cars to turn around on arrival. Please note all other car parks are full too.

Visitors 'pen in frightened' young deer in Richmond Park

PHOTO GALLERY: 10 pics by Jack Fifield on hectic day in Richmond Park

"Please note due to the high volumes of traffic in the park there is no access for litter collection trucks and litter collection will not be possible today.

"Please can you help us keep the park beautiful by taking litter home if the bins are full."

Royal Parks Police tweeted three photos including one showing large numbers of people on the grass.

"#RichmondPark is very busy and we would like to remind you that Government guidelines changed on November 5," the police wrote.

Richmond Cycling Campaign echoed the Royal Parks' message: "#RichmondPark is beyond capacity, apparently. Please don't drive there, and if you're cycling, do it with the utmost caution!"

Debate continues to rage on social media about the scenes in the park today and the causes of the business.

Cllr Michael Butlin said: "What a surprise. The high numbers of cyclists out on the streets in groups shows how some are taking their exercise."

DougieB said: "Both cyclists and drivers are all as bad as each other in the park. When I'm horse riding in the park cyclists are the worst very rarely stop for me and the horse to cross the road, and when we are they just speed around us almost touching the horse and scaring her. So dangerous."

Members of the public also shared photos of themselves stuck in their cars in traffic en route to the park.

Please like and follow our online newspaper on your favourite social media channel. You can find us @RichmondNubNews on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.