Road chaos to continue

The hold-ups are being caused because of work by Severn Trent Water on pipes under Comberton Hill.

The £1m scheme to reduce bursts and leaks began several weeks ago, but engineers only started work to replace water mains in Comberton Hill at the beginning of the month.

Severn Trent say the work will take longer than planned because pipes from other utilities are so close.

Although Comberton Hill should be reopened by the end of next week, two-way temporary traffic lights will be in place for another six to seven weeks - which will cause long tailbacks.

Trader Lesley Draper, who runs Party Boutique, said: "Trade has been atrocious. October is our busy month and I don't think all this will be finished even then. I am putting in for compensation."

Bob Davies, from R Davies Insurance, said: "I am angry as we've been given no information."

Severn Trent spokesman Ben Smallman said today: "We do want to apologise to all the businesses along the street as well as the drivers who will be inconvenienced.

"We will be on site longer than we first thought because there are a lot of utilities underneath the road surface and we have to place our pipes down very carefully. We will look at compensation claims from traders who can prove they have had a loss of earnings and make sure they do not lose out. People should contact us for an application form."