Traffic heading in and out of Ipswich along Wherstead Road has been plunged into chaos as Anglian Water engineers moved in to replace the cover of an underground tap.

Engineers moved in on Monday afternoon after the damage was reported over fears that somenoe could be injured tripping up on the broken manhole.

But the temporary traffic lights cause major problems during Monday rush-hour and on Tuesday – it took drivers 45 minutes to get from the town centre to Bourne Bridge.

The work was completed by Tuesday lunchtime which enabled the lights to be removed and traffic was able to flow freely again. Meanwhile work at the Cadent (British Gas) work on Norwich Road has been extended again because of technical problems faced by engineers replacing a main.

This work should have been completed by last weekend, but was extended to next weekend because of difficulties in removing the existing mains.

Now the work is due to continue until at least March 1 – leading to extended road closures and continued use of temporary traffic lights which has caused long queues on the busy road.