WORK is being carried out across Worcester to repair sewers and help prevent burst water pipes.

While Severn Trent Water is carrying out the repairs, traffic lights are in place on several roads leading into the city.

In the Upper Tything area, emergency sewer repairs are being carried out after a ‘sunken road’ was reported by Worcestershire County Council.

Paul Evans, Severn Trent Water manager, said: “Investigations showed it was caused by a collapsed Victorian sewer.

"To make sure that the local community remains safe, we finished repairs on one section of that sewer on Tuesday.

"However, following investigations, further work will need to be carried out on sewers beneath Britannia Square, starting on Monday and we expect it to be completed before the end of April.

“In addition, a sewer problem is being investigated so that repairs can be carried out at the junction of Henwick Road and Hylton Road, and we have traffic lights in place.”

After digging down more than two metres to reach part of the sewer which is damaged, engineers will continue investigations to find out if there are any further problems on the main sewer, which is buried more than six metres beneath the ground.

The company is also working to prevent burst water pipes on Bath Road and St Peter’s Drive, with nearly 400 metres of new pipes being installed.

Engineers expect the new pipes to be serving homes before Monday , with traffic lights in place on St Peter’s Drive later this week.

“We’d like to say sorry to Worcester’s commuters, we appreciate that any road works can cause frustration," added Mr Evans.

"Unfortunately, while we are doing planned work to install new water pipes in the city, a number of emergencies happened at the same time.

“All of this work is really important to make sure Worcester’s toilets and taps keep working. When an emergency happens, we have to act to make sure service to our customers continues as usual.

"We’d like to thank the local community for its patience and reassure them that, while it may seem hard now, before the end of the month we expect the majority of our work to be completed.”

For any sewer or water supply problems, call Severn Trent Water on 0800 783 4444.