The number of days left to grab those last minute Christmas presents are running out, but don't get your tinsel in a tangle.

Following a massive six hour delay for some shoppers trying to get out of Bluewater last year, research by the AA and traffic information provider INRIX has revealed the worst days to hit the shops.

So, if you don't fancy getting caught in something similar, head to Bluewater this Sunday or on a weekday before the schools break up.

Across the country, traffic jams were much worse around six different shopping centres last year on the two days after schools broke up.

Surprisingly, Christmas Eve is also a better bet for avoiding traffic congestion at Bluewater, as zero incidents of traffic congestion were reported that day last year.

However, this year may prove different as it falls on a Saturday - a typically popular shopping day.

In response to the figures, a Bluewater spokesman said: "We have extended Christmas trading hours ‘early to late’ Monday to Saturday 9am to 11pm and 11am to 5pm on Sundays until the December 23, so plenty of opportunity to spread out the Christmas shopping.

"We have comprehensive traffic management in place, which we continually review and improve, to manage our 13,000 free car parking spaces, and work in partnership with the highways agencies who manage the surrounding road network."

The data also shows that shoppers are less likely to have traffic problem if they head to Bluewater in the morning, as most congestion problems were after 2pm.

AA president Edmund King said: “Gridlock around shopping centres is often nothing to do with the malls themselves – the Bluewater jam last Christmas was started by a hold-up on one of the major roads leading to and from it.

"However, as the AA and INRIX research shows, the Christmas rush can turn into a deluge depending on when Christmas falls and when the schools break up,

"However, even those who plan their Christmas shopping with military precision may encounter unexpected events, such as incidents on major roads connecting with the shopping centres.

“We would hope that shopping centres have contingency plans in place for when their car parks and the roads leading to and from them become gridlocked.

"It is surely better that customers be told of delays and given the option to wait in the warmth of the shopping centre than for hours in their vehicles, moving forward a car length every quarter of an hour."

However, the volume of traffic on any given day is often unpredictable.

Greg Hallsworth, INRIX travel analyst, said: “There is usually at least one of these instances of gridlock every year. It usually occurs when traffic queueing to enter a parking area crosses over and blocks the path of vehicles trying to leave.

"Predicting where and when this will happen is pretty much impossible, but my tip is to go shopping the day after.

"The news reports of the gridlock mean that many drivers stay away for a while.”