A COLLAPSED sewer which has been causing traffic chaos for more than a month is worst than first thought.

Severn Trent has discovered that the stretch of sewer damaged by a 'sunken road' in the Upper Tything is longer and it is going to take another two weeks to repair.

Emergency repairs to the road were started in mid-March and originally completed by the start of April, but another stretch of road in Britannia Square needed the same repairs which is when the extra distance was discovered.

Severn Trent Water manager Paul Evans said it was not possible to know how much needed repairing until his team's came face to face with the issue.

"Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to tell exactly what’s going on under the ground until we actually dig up the road and take a look," he said.

"We finished repairs on the original section at the beginning of April, but further work then needed to be carried out in Britannia Square. Then, as we were carrying out the work, we found out that the part of the sewer that had collapsed was longer than we first thought. This means it will take around another two weeks than we originally estimated."

Engineers had to dig more than two metres below the ground to reach the broken parts of the sewer and make sure there were no further problems to the main sewer which runs about six metres below ground.

Mr Evans said while the emergencies were happening, Severn Trent were trying to replace pipes in the city, including in Bath Road and St Peter's, with new ones to ensure there would be no problems with burst pipes as part of a £1.3million investment everyday to improve the network of water and sewer pipes. This resulted in more traffic control than planned in Worcester with possible problems for commuters coming into and going out of the city.

“We care for and maintain 91,000 km of sewer pipes across the region and unfortunately sometimes they become old and break," Mr Evans said. "When this happens we have to act quickly to make sure that people can still continue to flush their toilets and use the roads safely."

Work is now expected to finish by the middle of May and two-way traffic lights will remain in place until it has finished.

For any sewer or water supply problems, Severn Trent Water can be contacted 24 hours a day by calling 0800 7834444.