Another Stafford road is to be closed in the autumn as work to replace a damaged bridge is carried out.

It is the latest in a lengthy list or repairs that has caused headaches on a daily basis for thousands of motorists in the past few months.

Staffordshire County Council has pledged that the work on the Doxey Road will not begin until the current work on gas main replacement and resurfacing on the A449 Wolverhampton Road is completed.

The council is writing to residents of Doxey and neighbouring areas including Derrington and Seighford to explain that the closure will begin between August 25 and September 8 and is scheduled to take 12 weeks to complete.

Work on the A449 began on Wednesday and is due to be completed by the beginning of September.

Traffic can only travel out of town between Ingestre Road and Rickerscote Road with inbound traffic diverted via Rickerscote Road, Silkmore Lane and the A34 Lichfield Road.

County council highways spokesman Jeremy Herbert said that the ancient bridge on the B road over the Doxey Brook at Doxey Fields had fallen into disrepair.

A temporary bridge had been put in place but it was now necessary to re-build it and make it suitable to carry traffic through the rest of this century.

“A diversion will be put in place because it is not possible to keep the road open. It will mean traffic from the east side of the bridge being diverted via Derrington and the A518 to the Broadeye roundabout.

“It will be a lengthy diversion but there is no other way round this.

“We will be doing everything possible to keep the closure for as short a period as we can.”

The work will be carried out by the Staffordshire Highways Partnership.

“The closure will not start until the A449 closure is lifted,” he added.