Just as motorists in east Ipswich thought things couldn’t get any worse, electricity giant UK Power Networks has introduced new roadworks.

Their engineers have started digging up Argyle Street, closing one of the lanes and meaning that every side of the St Helen’s Street/Woodbridge Road/Argyle Street triangle is now blighted by roadworks.

Traffic from the eastern side of town was brought to a standstill at rush-hours and even during quieter times of the day there were queues forming around the area.

The work is due to be completed by the weekend, and engineers have been told to work longer hours to ensure it is completed on time.

A spokesman for the county council said: “They needed to get in there to replace a box which could have left many properties in the area without power.

“We asked them to delay while the work was completed in the St Helen’s Street bus lane but if we’d delayed any longer it would not have been possible to do it until August and that would have increased the risk of a major power loss.”

A spokeswoman for UK Power Networks said: “Our contractors are carrying out vital work to replace a piece of underground electricity equipment to ensure the robustness of supplies to hundreds of homes and businesses in the area.

“The roadworks and their timing have been approved by the highways authority and the job is due to be completed on Friday. We apologise for any inconvenience caused while this work is carried out.”