CHANGES have been made to roadworks in Christchurch, which caused chaos for hundreds of motorists around the town this week.

Wick Lane in Christchurch will remain closed until October 11 for work on the new building development on the road.

This includes the installation of mains water, foul sewer and storm water connections on the busy town centre route.

But on Tuesday night, the town was gridlocked as a result of the closure, as well as an incident in Stour Road.

Access to the Fountain roundabout from Sopers Lane was at a standstill, with drivers reporting a 45 minute delay.

One driver said a man had to stop traffic on the busy A35 Fountain roundabout in order to allow vehicles out from Sopers Lane.

The work comes as traffic through the town is busier than ever due to the A338 Spur Road works.

Christchurch Borough Council's portfolio holder for transport, Cllr Nick Geary, said he understood people's frustrations as he was stuck in the traffic jams as well.

The borough council are not responsible for traffic works as Dorset County Council is the highways agency.

Cllr Geary said: "It was absolute chaos and a nightmare.

"Nothing was moving, people were getting frustrated and taking risks. The traffic coming into Christchurch was horrendous.

"It's fair to say I am not best pleased about it. I know the work has probably got to be done but they can do better than this.

"Why should Christchurch suffer?"

A spokesperson for Dorset County Council said the temporary traffic management system around Wick Lane had now been improved.

"Drivers normally use Wick Lane as a short cut through to the High Street, Castle Street and Bridge Street.

"It is closed to them but still open to shoppers wanting to use the car park and HGVs accessing the shops via Regent Way - but as this traffic is exiting the site using other roads, the area is busier than usual."

The spokesperson added: "We can't have a complete embargo on all work in the vicinity of the A338 while that work is going ahead but we are considering every other application to work on the highway in that area with particular care, refusing ones that can be delayed and mitigating in every other case.

"For example, we may insist developers work 7 days/week to reduce the time they are on the highway, or to manually control the lights to balance the traffic flow."