MOTORISTS were caught in traffic chaos as floodwaters covered roads in and around Colchester.

Traffic piled up yesterday around Hythe Hill, Hawkins Road, Military Road, Cowdray Avenue and Mersea Road as people tried to get into the town centre.

Flood signs were put up along Westway, as cars swerved to avoid several inches of water in one lane.

People were forced to wade through large puddles along Hawkins Road and other places in and around the town.

Dave Harris, Colchester councillor for Berechurch, said the floods had caused “absolute chaos” in the town over the last few days.

He said: “Bourne Road was completely flooded. You could have gone fishing there. I know we are having exceptional weather at the moment, but I would have expected Colchester to be more prepared for it.”

Mr Harris has organised a meeting with highways officers at Essex County Council to discuss how the situation can be improved in the future. Highways officers were called out to several locations in the town to deal with the excess water, including Cowdray Avenue.

Nicola Spicer, spokeswoman for Essex County Council, said: “There was surface water on one of the roads leading off Cowdray Avenue.

“Essex County Council visited the site, but could not remove the water.

“Signs were put up to warn drivers of the water and reminding them to drive safely. We also attended the junction of Mersea Road and Stansted Road with a tanker on Saturday to remove the water.”