Drivers travel 50 miles for just 1,400 yards of roadworks in ‘village of the jammed’

Melbury Abbas was beforehand branded ‘Village of the Jammed’ after a number of lorries bought caught on the Dorset village’s tight roads (Image: CorinMesser/BNPS)

Drivers have slammed a ‘daft’ diversion which suggests they need to take a 50-mile journey to get round 1,400 yards of roadworks to entry a market city.

The set up of fibre optic cables in Melbury Abbas in north Dorset has led to the closure of a street within the space to be closed for 5 nights.

Except they wish to tackle tight bends on ‘Zig Zag Hill’, that are troublesome for bigger autos to get by way of, motorists need to take the detour to succeed in Shaftesbury – a city simply three miles away.

Drivers who select to disregard these choices and drive by way of the blocked-off street danger a £1,000 fantastic.

A Dorset Council spokesperson mentioned: ‘Any one that makes use of or permits using a automobile in contravention of the discover will probably be liable on abstract conviction to a fantastic not exceeding £1000. That is primarily based on commonplace council coverage.’

Nonetheless, residents have branded the journey as ‘daft’, because the works imply they need to drive 10 miles south to affix the A350, solely to return on themselves.

‘Are locals actually going to make use of this 50-mile diversion? It appears daft to need to drive to this point to get someplace that's lower than a mile away,’ mentioned one resident.

One other mentioned his daughter stored sheep on the closed street, which will probably be ‘inconceivable’ for her to entry by automotive whereas the roadworks are in place.

‘How is she going to get to them,’ he mentioned.

It isn’t the primary time that Melbury Abbas has made headlines for visitors points, with the village beforehand being dubbed the ‘Village of the Damned’ as a result of variety of HGVs which get caught alongside its slim roads frequently.

The village experiences a mean of 18 blockages per week on the tight street, after Dorset Council selected to divert lorries by way of the world from June 2016.

Residents raised greater than £11,000 to sue the council in 2018 over the choice, earlier than the judicial evaluation software was withdrawn by the parish council later that 12 months.

.