Roadworks cause misery for village on A49

Almost all of Preston Brockhurst, near Wem, has been affected by a £300,000 project being carried out by Severn Trent to replace 2,500 metres of water pipes.

And lengthy queues have backed up during the morning rush hour while commuters try to navigate the traffic light-controlled roadworks.

Leila Corbet, who runs Preston Hall in the village, said the work is causing a few problems but added people realise it is essential.

Severn Trent has apologised for the inconvenience caused by the work.

Mrs Corbet said: "There have been enormous delays at peak times, heading north in the morning it is going all the way up to the Shawbury turn off. These jobs do need doing but it is quite a nuisance, the sequence is very slow."

But Mrs Corbet said the road was running fine during the day and when Preston Hall was open as part of the National Garden Scheme on Monday there were no problems.

The improvement work began in early April and is expected to be completed by the end of May.

There have been two problems with water supplies in the area in the last month. About 100 homes were left without water for up to three hours because of a burst water main next to the A49 in Prees Heath, and residents in nearby Weston under Redcastle had no water or low water pressure following a problem with pumps.

A spokeswoman from Severn Trent Water said: "We started work in early April and we've made good progress. We expect to finish the improvements before the end of May. We'd like to thank the local community for its patience."