diff --git a/cmd/process.go b/cmd/process.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9eb9b15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/process.go
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+var ErrNoProcessFound = errors.New("no process found")
+
+// findProcessWithPrefix finds a process with the given prefix in its command line
+func findProcessWithPrefix(prefix string) (int, error) {
+	d, err := os.Open("/proc")
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, err
+	}
+	defer d.Close()
+
+	for {
+		names, err := d.Readdirnames(10)
+		if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			return 0, err
+		}
+
+		for _, name := range names {
+			// We only care if the name starts with a numeric
+			if name[0] < '0' || name[0] > '9' {
+				continue
+			}
+
+			// From this point forward, any errors we just ignore, because
+			// it might simply be that the process doesn't exist anymore.
+			pid, err := strconv.ParseInt(name, 10, 0)
+			if err != nil {
+				continue
+			}
+
+			cmdline, err := readCmdline(int(pid))
+			if err != nil {
+				continue
+			}
+			if strings.HasPrefix(cmdline, prefix) {
+				return int(pid), nil
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return 0, ErrNoProcessFound
+}
+
+// readCmdline reads the command line of a process
+func readCmdline(pid int) (string, error) {
+	cmdlinePath := fmt.Sprintf("/proc/%d/cmdline", pid)
+	dataBytes, err := os.ReadFile(cmdlinePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return string(dataBytes), nil
+}
diff --git a/cmd/script.go b/cmd/script.go
index a2341e5..e6baf8f 100644
--- a/cmd/script.go
+++ b/cmd/script.go
@@ -9,10 +9,6 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 )
 
-// LockAcquireAttempts is the number of attempts to acquire the lock. Also
-// correlates with the number of seconds to wait for the lock.
-const LockAcquireAttempts = 180
-
 // Script represents a Python script
 type Script struct {
 	AbsolutePath      string    // Full path to the script
diff --git a/cmd/utils.go b/cmd/utils.go
index c27f098..87a6670 100644
--- a/cmd/utils.go
+++ b/cmd/utils.go
@@ -17,6 +17,13 @@ import (
 const CyanColor = "\033[1;36m"
 const ResetColor = "\033[0m"
 
+// LockAcquireAttempts is the number of attempts to acquire the lock. Also
+// correlates with the number of seconds to wait for the lock.
+const LockAcquireAttempts = 300
+
+// LockStaleTime is the time after which the lock is considered stale
+const LockStaleTime = 15 * time.Minute
+
 // getFileHash calculates the SHA256 hash of the file
 func getFileHash(filename string) (string, error) {
 	// Check that the file exists
@@ -80,12 +87,36 @@ func acquireLock(envDir string, attempt int) error {
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
-	_, err = os.Stat(lockFileName)
+	stat, err := os.Stat(lockFileName)
 	if err == nil {
 		if attempt >= LockAcquireAttempts {
 			return fmt.Errorf("failed to acquire lock")
 		}
-		// Sleep for 1 second
+
+		// Lockfile exists, check if it is stale by checking its age
+		if time.Since(stat.ModTime()) > LockStaleTime {
+			if flagDebug {
+				loggerErr.Printf("lockfile %s is stale, removing it\n", lockFileName)
+			}
+			err = os.Remove(lockFileName)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Lockfile is not stale, check if there is a process which uses the venv
+		_, err := findProcessWithPrefix(envDir)
+		if err == ErrNoProcessFound {
+			if flagDebug {
+				loggerErr.Printf("process which is using virtual environment not found, removing lockfile %s\n", lockFileName)
+			}
+			err = os.Remove(lockFileName)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Lockfile is not stale, wait for 1 second and try again
 		time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
 		return acquireLock(envDir, attempt+1)
 	}