A road repair job due to start today has flabbergasted local residents. Flabbergasted, we tells ya!Why?  Because in order to repair a stretch of road less than half a mile long, a 47-mile diversion has been put in place.

It’s the work of Somerset Council, which has commissioned repairs on a stretch of Church Street that would ordinarily take less than a minute to drive through. However, the diversion will cost about two hours, according to an MSN story.

As usual, despite a number of much quicker diversions being available, the lengthy diversion has come as a result of an elf and some safety. “the alternative route might look extreme, but it is being put in place by the county council to try and divert motorists, particularly those with heavy goods vehicles, away from minor roads with weak bridges,” said Highbridge town clerk Eileen Shaw.

The work on Church Street is due to last about eight days. So figure on about eight weeks.