A RURAL borough road, linking the communities of East Tilbury and Linford with Stanford-le-Hope and its secondary school and shops is to remain closed until late next week at the earliest.

There were expectations that Walton's Farm Road, where a major sewer repair is underway, might be open by this weekend. The road closed following the discovery of problems with the sewer adjacent to the Walton Hall Farm leisure and residential homes development in the week beginning 7 September.

During the operation large tankers have been pumping and taking away sewage from the site.

However, the repairs have proved problematic, as a statement from Anglian Water has confirmed today (Friday, 18 September).

The company says: "Our team is still on site working to fix one of our sewers on Walton's Hall Road. Our latest investigations have revealed further damage in a particularly challenging location and so the repair is more complex than we initially expected.

"While there will be no visible repair work taking place at the site over the weekend, our teams will continue to work throughout the weekend to make the necessary engineering and logistical arrangements ahead of the full repair early next week.

"Tankers will remain in operation to keep the sewer flowing and homes safe by pumping wastewater away to take to our nearby treatment works. We're sorry that Walton's Hall Road will need to remain closed while the repair is completed to keep our teams safe, and we would like to thank local residents for their patience and understanding while we complete these works as safely and as quickly as possible."

No end date to the work, or road reopening, has been given.

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