Roadworks paused after four-hour hospital queues

Graham Hayden said he was stuck in a queue of traffic for four hours

Hospital roadworks have been paused and rescheduled after motorists described being stuck in "horrendous" traffic for up to four hours.

Hospital Approach, the entrance and exit to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex, was partially closed on Monday, making it a one-way entrance while exiting traffic was diverted down Court Road.

Graham Hayden, 62, sat in traffic with his mother-in-law for more than four hours and said "we had the engine turned off for an hour and a half, it was just stationary".

A spokesperson for Essex Highways said: "The developer and Essex Highways will work closely to ensure any future works have minimal impact on traffic going in and out of Broomfield Hospital."

Mr Hayden, who works in IT for emergency road transport systems, said he has experience with traffic management and attempted to contact the construction firm carrying out the works.

"The other annoying thing is the housing developer who is responsible for it all, come 16:00 BST they're all shut up and gone home."

"There were even ambulances stuck in the traffic... I think at one point there were three ambulances trying to get out of hospital that were just stuck in traffic [and couldn't] go anywhere."

The roadworks began on Monday and were cancelled on Tuesday morning

Mr Hayden explained that the cars leaving the hospital were having to join queues with all the cars coming in.

"Everyone was complaining and moaning, but people were in quite good spirits," he said.

"The only other thing that then became a bit concerning was the staff leaving the hospital were leaving before the relief staff coming into the hospital.

"So people say... there's gonna be staffing issues at the hospital.

"The nurses coming in were all anxious because they're saying 'oh I'm late, I'm late, I'm gonna get in trouble because I'm late'."

Mr Hayden told BBC Essex that his mother-in-law was OK after the experience.

"I think she was there to get home and get a cup of tea," he said.

Matthew Hopkins, the chief executive of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The roadworks on the approach road caused major disruption to access to and exit from Broomfield Hospital.

"I want to thank everyone for their patience during this disruption and especially our staff who did a brilliant job in ensuring patients, visitors and their colleagues were safe at all times."

The BBC has contacted contractors CGS Construction for comment.