ROADWORKS in Park Gate have been abandoned because of the major tailbacks they were causing.

Southern Water were due to replace 250 metres of water mains in Botley Road and four-way lights were installed at the roundabout on Monday so the works could be carried out.

But the project was soon causing substantial delays for motorists in the area.

Stephen Scearce, 54, from Beacon Mount, Park Gate, was stuck in the jams.

He said: “I was there in the morning, which is usually quite a quiet time, and I could see the problem was definitely to going to get even worse towards lunchtime.”

Southern Water says the works caused longer jams than they were expecting so the traffic lights have been removed.

Spokeswoman Leilah Nicola said: “We’re now liasing with our contractor and the local authority to come up with a solution that will have less impact on drivers.

“Our priority when carrying out this type of work is to keep disruption to a minimum.”