FRUSTRATION is growing among villagers as flooding on a key road is still to be cleared.

Halstead Road, between Sible Hedingham and Halstead, first flooded around ten weeks ago at the start of the year.

Water has almost entirely covered the road during this time, with drivers being forced to make diversions or drive through it, risking their safety.

Residents are angry the flooding hotspot has not been sorted out.

Janice Dent regularly saw her driveway flood before her husband, who had undergone major heart surgery just two months earlier, was forced to dig a trench to drain the water.

Mrs Dent said: “I can’t believe this still hasn’t been resolved.

“I’ve written to the council. We’ve sent complaints to highways but everything is still the same.

“This all started at around the start of the year and we’re in March now.

“My daughter is having to drive through it every day and it is just causing such a mess, but nothing has been done.

“The road is often completely flooded and there is no doubt that it is dangerous.

“I worry when it gets dark because it basically becomes invisible.

“We’ve been worried about it getting too cold because it will freeze over and turn into an ice rink.

“A few weeks back a couple of girls got their car stuck in it.”

“But no-one from the county council replies or comes back to us. They just say ‘we’re dealing with it’ and that they’re trying to sort it out.”

Some residents have described the water as “more of a puddle” than a flood.

Mrs Dent said: “There are some people saying stuff like it will dry up and that it’s just a big puddle.

“They aren’t thinking about the long term because this will just come back next year.

“It’s not their house, it’s not their problem.

“But if it was I bet they’d be just as annoyed as I am.”

An Essex Highways spokesman said: “Our drain crew attended to check drains and pipes, removing water by tanker only for it to re-appear at a later date.

“A local landowner has co-operated fully with us, clearing ditches in the area.

“However, it now appears that a culvert has been broken by more recent BT works and we are now requiring BT to attend to re-instate the pipes.”