Police warning as key route to M4 in Wiltshire impassable after Storm Eunice

  • The owner of the Peterborough Arms explains his frustration with the road

Drivers are being warned to avoid a road in Wiltshire which has been torn up by subsidence.

Part of the B4069 between the villages of Dauntsey Lock and Lyneham - a main route to the M4 - has been badly damaged over the past week and is now impassable.

Despite closure signs, Wiltshire Police say some drivers are still trying to use the route.

The force said: "Unfortunately some drivers are ignoring the closure at the bottom of the hill and driving up the Banks.

Huge amounts of wet soil shifted underneath the road, cracking its surface. Credit: Wiltshire Police

"This could put the council workers who are working on the road in danger.

"As you can see from the photos the road is not passable at all.

"Please do not ignore the closure thinking it doesn’t apply to you."

The closure is causing problems elsewhere.

The road was closed following the landslip Credit: Wiltshire Police

The Peterborough Arms in Dauntsey Lock has had a weekend of cancelled bookings, with motorists wrongly assuming the road is closed there too.

Some residents in Bradenstoke have complained of an increase in traffic as motorists find their own diversions.

It is not the first time this stretch of road has been affected by subsidence. The issue happens because too much water in the soil means it shifts underneath the road's concrete foundations, leading to severe cracks in the tarmac.

It is not clear when the road will be repaired.