WATCH: Kildare bus operator slams National Ploughing Championships as teens forced to push coach out of muddy car park

One major bus operator has slammed the organisers of the National Ploughing Championships after one of their buses got bogged down in a muddy carpark on the site on Tuesday.

Maynooth-based Barton's Transport took to social media to share a video of a group of teenagers pushing the bus out of the deep mud in Ratheniska, Co Laois and slated the event organisers.

Barton's, which has over 60 years of experience in passenger transport, said: "Not good enough #Ploughing2023. Proper facilities needed for coaches to park. Wet conditions predicted and nothing in place. Two more days of this?"

Not good enough #Ploughing2023 proper facilities needed for coaches to park. Wet conditions predicted and nothing in place . Two more days of this ? pic.twitter.com/CvXlf4u1hZ

— Bartons Transport (@Bartonscoaches) September 19, 2023

The video showed at least a dozen people trying to push the huge push out of the carpark on Tuesday evening after the event.

Other drivers too took to social media to vent at the lack of help from stewards or others to get cars out of the mud. Some took hours to leave the site in Laois.

The weather may also have impacted attendance with crowd figures well down on previous years. Almost 67,000 attended on Tuesday, while over 100,000 have attended on opening day in previous years.

On social media, the National Ploughing Championships said, "our teams of volunteers worked well through the night with wood chip to improve the site and carparks for day 2."

We also have asked the National Ploughing Association for a specific statement on issues faced by drivers trying to leave the carpark on Tuesday with little or no help. We have not yet received a reply.