WORKERS carrying out work along a stretch of the A38 have been slammed by residents who say they are “ripping through the county”.

Western Power has been laying a 7km length of cable but the resulting damage has resulted in an Alveston wheelchair unable to use the pavements.

The work has left stretches of the pavements on either side of the road much narrower and too narrow for wheelchairs and pushchairs to get by safely.

David Redgewell who lives in Alveston has had to travel on sections of the A38 because of the ongoing works.

“They seem absolutely uncontrollable,” he said. “The way they left the site opposite St Helen’s Church is like something from Blott on the Landscape.

“Who will put everything right? My fear is that they’ll leave it and clear off.

“They’re ripping through the county and it’s shocking that they’re getting away with it.”

Contractors have been laying cable in sections of the A38 through Alveston, Rudgeway and Almondsbury heading into Bradley Stoke.

Graham Smith, Alveston Parish Council clerk, said that the contractors had made a “hell of a mess” whilst laying the cable.

“Things have been getting better but initially the contractors had a disregard for public safety.

“After completing some of the work they left a pile of all the debris on the side of the road and even now that they’ve removed it there are still stones in the grass which makes it impossible to reseed the land.”

In a statement, Western Power say that they have agreed with the parish council to restore the grass verges and flower beds with new soil and seeds once the cable laying is fully complete.

The work is part of a £2.65 million project to install a new 7km long stretch of cable between major substations in Alveston and Bradley Stoke to “safeguard supply reliability” in the area.

They added that the full installation of the cables is expected to be completed by the end of March.