Modbury sewer works: Lorries getting stuck on diversion

A lorry being towed out of a lane near Modbury

Lorry drivers ignoring diversion signs in a Devon village are causing "utter chaos", a parish council has said.

Barbara Price, chairwoman of Modbury Parish Council in south Devon, said five weeks of roadworks had been made more difficult by HGV drivers becoming stuck in country lanes.

Part of the A379 is closed at Modbury for work to upgrade the sewer main.

South West Water (SWW) said it had taken every effort to minimise disruption.

However, Ms Price said some lorries had attempted to avoid a long diversion by taking a shortcut down country lanes.

Local traffic is allowed to use the smaller route around Modbury, but there is a longer diversion via Totnes recommended for HGVs.

Ms Price said lorries that had become stuck - including one for 30 hours - had "ground the whole place to a halt".

Part of the A379 is closed at Modbury to allow for work to upgrade a sewer main

She said a Grade II listed building had also been damaged by a reversing lorry.

"The issue is a small minority of lorries completely ignoring the fact they could not come through these smaller diversions.

"It just causes utter chaos.

"We know they've got a short time to make that delivery and they are tight on time, so their companies need to take on board that they will take a bit longer to make that delivery."

The A379 is due to reopen on 8 February, but sewer works were expected to continue for several more weeks.

Councillor Barbara Price said the village had "ground to a halt" at times

Gerry McAllister, who runs a toy shop on the affected street, said the works would be "difficult to bounce back from".

"We've had four years of various roadworks happening," he added.

Adrian Martin, the manager of Aune Valley Meat, said the diversion "works very well" when it is adhered to.

"We've lost a bit of passing trade but in generally every one can still park," he added.

Ms Price said a Grade-II listed building had also been damaged by a reversing lorry

A SWW spokeswoman said the works were expected to be completed by the end of February. "We have worked hard to minimise impact on residents and businesses by avoiding the busy festive period and reducing the number of excavations needed," she said.

"Traffic management and road closures are required to enable us to safely carry out the work, but we have maintained access to all pavements and car parks so that Modbury can open for business as usual."