Commuter gridlock from Newbury to Thatcham

Temporary lights cause 2-mile tailback

THERE was gridlock during the commute to Newbury this morning (Thursday).

Temporary traffic lights on the A4 close to the Swan pub saw traffic queuing more than 2 miles back through Thatcham.

Drivers reported taking 40 minutes to drive from Thatcham to Newbury.

One motorist said it had taken 10 minutes to drive a mile through Thatcham.

The temporary lights have been installed by Thames Water in order to carry out emergency repairs to a sunken manhole cover.

A spokeswoman for West Berkshire Council said that the authority had asked Thames Water to operate the lights manually to try and ease the ongoing congestion.

There were further delays this morning following an accident on the A339 near Headley Tyres.

A spokeswoman for the South Central Ambulance Service, Michelle Archer, said that crews were called at 7.34am to reports that a car had collided with a parked lorry.

Paramedics assessed one person at the scene for minor injuries but they did not require hospital treatment.