National Grid apologises over delays that have caused "chaos" in Ham cul-de-sac

Work to replace old metal gas mains with new pipes began in Murray Road on August bank holiday and residents were told it would take about five weeks to complete.

Months later it remains unfinished and retired carpenter Gerald Stevens, 73, said trenches left in the street have been a massive inconvenience for him and his neighbours.

He said: "We have had massive great big trenches outside our houses since early August and have had to park our cars about 300 yards away.

"I still work part-time and now I can’t park my car outside my house I have to walk hundreds of yards with a heavy bag full of tools, and my neighbour is trying to have his driveway done but the builders can't access it.

"Everyone here is totally sick of it and we wouldn’t mind if we could see some light at the end of the tunnel but we were told five weeks and here we are in October with no signs of it finishing soon."

Mr Stevens and the trench near his home

Mr Stevens said the residents have complained to the National Grid and were told the organisation would send a "specialist" to the site, but as far as he knew no one had come.

He said: "We understand work like this has to be done but this is a joke.

"They seem to come in, do a bit of digging with a mechanical digger then just disappear."

A spokesman from the National Grid said the work is taking longer than expected as the gas mains are deeper than first thought and larger excavations needed to be carried out.

He said people might not be able to see engineers on site as they may be working in the deep excavations or installing service pipes in people's homes.

He said: "We’re sorry for the inconvenience this essential work may be causing the local community and are doing what we can to complete the work as soon as possible."

The work in Murray Road is expected to be completed in early November.

National Grid customer services can be reached on 0800 096 5678.