50 million litres of water pumped away from A14 in Newmarket after unprecedented wet weather

• Rob Setchell reports from Newmarket for ITV News Anglia

Highways engineers have had to pump more than 50 million litres of water from one of the country's busiest A-roads after a winter of extreme wet weather.

A 200-metre section dip in the A14 near Newmarket in Suffolk has been causing delays for drivers since February, after the wettest autumn and winter since records began meant it was frequently submerged.

Since it was hit with flooding in February, locals have dubbed the area the "Newmarket Puddle" - and it has even become an ironic tourist attraction with its own TripAdvisor reviews.

But highway bosses warn that a long term solution could cost millions.

Martin Fellows, regional director at National Highways, said: "We've pumped somewhere in the region of 50 million litres of water away from the carriageway in the last two months.

"That's the equivalent of about 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

"But unfortunately as soon as we remove the water and pump it away, the groundwater levels are so high that the water is returning and the flooding is returning again."

A mile and a half of pipes have had to be constructed, to pump it into the nearby river.

A lane remains closed, on the eastbound carriageway, between junctions 37 and 38 at Newmarket on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border.

Drivers are becoming frustrated, admit bosses - though some roadside workers have reported being subjected to abuse and having things thrown at them.

Highways managers said it was not the only part of the region's network struggling to cope with increasingly extreme weather.

Mr Fellows said: "I've never known so many flooding issues that we're experiencing.

"Clearly the climate is a challenge for us. It's a challenge for the road itself.

"And what we're finding is that there are numerous locations across the region where we're having to think about what additional services we put in place - whether that's pumping the water away, whether that's improving the drainage."

The pumps are now about to be switched off.

Bosses hope that a drier spell over spring and summer will mean they will not be needed for the time being.

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