Stonehenge A303 petition presented to House of Commons

The A344 - which ran alongside the stones - closed last year and is being restored to grass

A 2,000-signature petition calling for an urgent upgrade of the A303 at Stonehenge has been presented to the House of Commons.

The A344 next to the stone circle was shut in 2013 as part of a £27m scheme to restore the monument's "dignity".

But residents in nearby villages claim lanes have become "rat runs" for drivers avoiding jams on the A303 and want it upgraded to a dual carriageway.

The petition was presented by Salisbury MP John Glen on Wednesday.

The A303 stretches 92 miles (148km) from Hampshire to Devon. Its single carriageway sections, including those around Stonehenge, suffer from traffic bottlenecks.

According to the Shrewton Traffic Action Group, the closure of the A344 has made matters worse and the group is petitioning to make the A303 a dual carriageway west of Stonehenge.

On Wednesday night, its petition was presented to the House of Commons by Mr Glen, who requested that MPs urge the government to upgrade the road "at the earliest possible opportunity".