ROADWORKS have been causing delays along Wootton Bassett Road and Westcott Place.

Long queues of traffic have been building up since Monday because of essential work being carried out on the road and pavements.

It has meant that Westcott Place is being used for diverted traffic heading towards the town centre, resulting in congestion during rush hours.

Postman Stephen Fowler, 56, of Old Town, says that the work has caused problems all week.

He said: "I think the roadworks must have increased congestion by about 70 per cent.

"I hope it is all finished by September because it would only get worse when the school run starts."

And Les Mitchell, 65, of Old Town, said he was surprised at the extent of the roadworks.

He said: "If they'd have dug it up in sections there would have been fewer problems. I wouldn't have been so bothered if they were working on all of it but they've largely been working on one small area."

The council has closed one lane of Kingshill in the direction of Old Town between Wootton Bassett Road and Clifton Street until September 3.

The work on the road and pavements will involve the footways being sealed with a thin resurfacing substance.

As a result, traffic is being diverted through Westcott Place, Faringdon Road, Emlyn Square, Station Road, Wellington Street, Milford Street, Princes Street, Victoria Road and Bath Road.

The diversions have also meant that the number 22 and number 25 buses have been diverted along Westcott Place, Faringdon Road, Farnsby Street and Commercial Road on the inbound journey.

The roadworks follow a year of traffic difficulties in and around Old Town.

In July last year a sewer collapsed in Wood Street.

Thames Water had to carry out massive rebuilding works and the road was closed from July until a month before Christmas, and then for several weeks at the beginning of this year.

Newport Street also saw a 10-week resurfacing scheme, which started in February this year.

The last time there were major roadworks in Kingshill Road was in February 2004, when a collapsed garden wall meant that temporary traffic lights had to be installed at the top of the hill. The work turned nearby roads, such as Clifton Street, into rat-runs.