Villagers battling traffic chaos caused by a six-week road closure say the situation has worsened with HGVs trying to find alternative routes allegedly caused a water main to burst.

Thousands of gallons of water have been flowing into a field from the damaged main in Clarke’s Lane, near Farthinghoe, at a time when water supplies are already under pressure following prolonged dry weather.

It is the latest problem to hit the village following the closure of the A422, the main road between Brackley and Banbury.

Farthinghoe Parish Council has already sent a petition signed by residents from 97 households to West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), calling for traffic to be diverted well before it reaches the village.

An HGV attempts to get around the A422 closure by driving along the narrow Queen's Street

placeholder image — An HGV attempts to get around the A422 closure by driving along the narrow Queen's Street

Further disruption is also being caused by gas main repairs between Farthinghoe and Middleton Cheney, where temporary traffic lights have led to long queues in both directions.

Mick Morris, chairman of Farthinghoe Parish Council, said the A422 was completely closed around halfway through the village.

However, motorists are able to leave the road via New Road and travel along Queen’s Street before rejoining the A422 on the other side of Farthinghoe.

Mr Morris said sections of both roads were too narrow for two cars to pass comfortably, let alone HGVs, while Queen’s Street has no pavements and is also used to access the children's play park.

An HGV has passed several 'No HGVs' signs to reach New Road/Queen's Street crossroads trying to avoid the Farthinghoe road closure

He said: "With large volumes of traffic travelling in both directions the village can log jam for long periods with no way in or out.

"Yesterday lunchtime, even with normal traffic, we had a 1.5 hour queue."

New Road continues towards Charlton, becoming Clarke’s Lane, which Mr Morris said had also been used by heavy goods vehicles attempting to avoid the closure.

He added: "Unfortunately this road was not strong enough to hold the heavy lorries which chose to use it and a water main burst, flooding the road and fields.

Queen's Street is one of two rat runs being used by countless motorists to avoid the A422 closure

"The whole thing descends into chaos.

"Farthinghoe cannot cope with this for another five weeks."

Mr Morris said motorists were ignoring council signs, while HGV drivers were disregarding restrictions intended to keep them away from unsuitable roads.

West Northamptonshire Council has been approached for comment.