MP Chris Mole is set to ask some searching questions of the Highways Agency once the current problems on the region's roads has been finally sorted out.

IPSWICH: MP Chris Mole is set to ask some searching questions of the Highways Agency once the current problems on the region's roads has been finally sorted out.

In his role as junior transport minister, Mr Mole is responsible for the agency, and ironically it is this part of the world that was worst affected by Thursday night's snowstorms.

He said: “It is not unreasonable to foresee us asking some searching questions once the initial problems have been dealt with. The conditions were undoubtedly exceptional this week, but there have been problems on the roads that we would have hoped would have been avoided after what happened earlier in the year.”

Agency bosses insisted there was nothing they could do to get more grit on the A12 and A14 as traffic ground to a halt during Thursday night's snowstorm. Their gritters started a first run at 2.30pm in the afternoon and a second at 7pm.

A spokesman for the agency said: "The Highways Agency undertook continuous gritting and ploughing operations on the A12 and A14 throughout the night. Operations were made more difficult by congestion and broken down vehicles on both routes. A number of HGVs were stranded or jack-knifed. Two specialist vehicles are working specifically in the Ipswich area."