A DRAIN in a road notorious for flooding has been tarmacked over by Highways engineers.

Unrest among residents regarding the site has reached boiling point as Haven Road, in the Hythe, Colchester, continues to become overwhelmed by water.

A mixture of high tides and heavy rainfall are causing chaos every week as motorists are faced with becoming stranded in the water or miles of diversions.

And to add salt to residents’ wounds, a drain on Haven Road has been covered up by Essex Highways during a tarmacking job at the site.

Hythe councillor Lee Scordis has insisted Colchester deserves better after feeling disheartened at a series of botched repair works in the town.

Read more: Police investigating child abduction attempt as boys chased through streets

It follows a sinking drain under North Station Bridge, another flooding hotspot, being covered up by a fresh road surface before being properly repaired.

Mr Scordis said: “I felt complete despair at the complete lack of common sense as we’ve seen it done before. It suggests Essex Highways doesn’t care about flooding.

“The situation is really bad, Haven Road is the main route in and out of Colchester for some people and it’s arguably getting worse and we need a solution as soon as possible.

“It’s coming up more and more as an issue and, with the spring tides, it’s only going to get worse. I’m now having people more frequently contact me about it.”

The concerned councillor stated he now wants to see further devices in place to help remedy the issue.

He added: “We want to see electronic warnings for when it floods so people can be diverted from the route and cars can avoid getting stuck.

“The biggest solution would be to redevelop the road and raise it above the level high tide reaches. Hythe Quay doesn’t flood and this is because it is higher up.

“The road was never built for the volume of traffic it now sees as a main road and we need to get it up to scratch.”

An Essex Highways spokesperson said: “This repair is a ‘make-safe’, a temporary repair for public safety.

“Essex Highways was alerted that the surface of the road around the drain cover had broken up, exposing the sharp edges of the drain cover, which can be very dangerous.

“An inspection team was quickly dispatched and the quick temporary ‘make safe’ repair was carried out by the same crew, to stop any damage to car tyres or, as the drain is near to the pavement, pedestrians possibly injuring themselves.

“The highest risk problems need to be dealt with urgently, for public safety. In accordance with our maintenance strategy, this defect has been made safe until we can programme in a permanent repair, as all drainage works require permits to be applied for, which takes a little bit of time.”