LYDBROOK residents who have suffered from having the main road through the village closed for the past six weeks are 'furious' at the fact that the works are to be delayed, potentially by another six weeks.

The roadwords are the result of the County Council working on a flood alleviation scheme, but residents and commuters who use the B4234 through the village are not amused at the fact that the road may not now reopen for another six weeks.

Brian Watkins, local highways manager with Gloucestershire County Council issued a statement in which he said: "We're currently working in Lydbrook to replace the existing culvert. We'll be on site until Tuesday July 21, and we want to thank residents, businesses, commuters and tourists for bearing with us.

"When work began we found a large amount of debris which caused access difficulties as well as asbestos in the manhole we were connecting into, which had to be removed by a specialist contractor. We also significantly redesigned the scheme to accommodate private sewers and utility connections which has caused further delays.

"We're keen to get traffic flowing through the village again as soon as possible so we're going to finish off the work under temporary traffic lights and plan to re-open the road on Monday July 6."

But resident Bill Cartwright, who commutes from his home in Camomile Green to Ross-on-Wye, says that the problems the construction company, Amey, are experiencing, could have been predicted.

He said: "Lots of the villagers went to the meeting about the flood scheme in the Memorial Hall over a year ago, and the panel of so-called experts and councillors that were wheeled out for us were asked, directly, if the whole of the culvert they wanted to work on had been surveyed. They replied that it had not, and that sections had not been inspected at all.

"So here we are, with the road closed, and we are facing six weeks of further delays, due to what they claim are unforseen problems with private sewers, reported asbestos, and debris in the culvert, all of which should have been identified by a proper survey before they ever started the work.

"This is just basic negligence on the contractors part. People here are furious about the delay, and not happy that we have another six weeks of this. It is not acceptable, and very unprofessional."

He added: "I know for a fact that there has been a huge amount of disruption for people trying to get to work, the buses have had to be re-routed, and totally inappropriate traffic has been diverted up and down Hangerberry. The businesses in the village have suffered over the road closure, and I would imagine they are going to see their lawyers and try and get compensation from Amey or the county council for their loss."

The construction company had been posting bulletins about their work in Lydbrook on the village notice board, outside Central Stores. The postings have not been updated since May 8.