Badgers back at 'sinking' Somersham country road

(L-R) Somersham residents Nick Rix, Roger and Janet Dunnet said the badgers should be moved to another site

Badgers have returned to a country lane that started sinking when the animals burrowed underneath.

Flowton Road in Somersham, Suffolk, was closed for about six months last year as the protected species could not be disturbed during breeding season.

Resident Roger Dunnet has called for the mammals to be relocated and said: "We've still got the problem. We don't want them killed, just removed."

Suffolk Highways said that an expert would visit the site this week.

Badgers and their setts are protected by law

Repairs were made to the road alongside measures to stop the creatures from coming back after their setts caused subsidence last year.

An emergency road closure was put in place after the badgers dug out all the sand underneath the lane.

Before work got under way, villagers told how motorists were "risking their lives" by moving warning signs out of the way so they could carry on driving.

• Badger-damaged road to be repaired

• Badger damage 'causes road to sink'

But residents said the creatures returned almost as soon as the repairs were made.

Mr Dunnet, whose garden backs on to Flowton Road, said: "We just want them removed to somewhere where they can enjoy a bit more freedom, away from the houses.

"They rebuilt the road and wire meshed all the embankments so they can't get underneath them, but where the wire mesh finishes they have gone back."

Badgers have been burrowing along Flowton Road, which was closed last year for months

Mr Dunnet's wife Janet said they had notified the council about their return and were concerned about the situation.

"We hope the road won't collapse again. I'm not sure what is going to happen," she said.

"Why can't they just come and take them, last year it inconvenienced a lot of people."

A Suffolk Highways spokeswoman said: "A Suffolk Wildlife Trust ecologist will be visiting the site this week to look into the current situation.

"We will provide further information as soon as this becomes available."