A broken manhole cover on the junction of Landseer Road and Cliff Lane added to motorists’ problems during Ipswich rush-hour on Tuesday morning.

The road was partially blocked for two hours while the cover war replaced which caused serious additional problems on a road that already has problems because of the rebuilding of the Clapgate Lane junction a few hundred metres away.

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said there was no alternative to doing the emergency work straight away because if a vehicle had driven over the broken cover it would have suffered serious damage – and could have damaged the manhole itself that could then have taken much longer to repair.

The work was completed within two hours and traffic in that part of Landseer Road was able to flow again – although the delays remain at the Clapgate Lane junction which is due to be partially closed until Friday week, December 8.