COMMUTERS who use the main road between Malvern and Worcester are being warned of traffic disruption as vital work is carried out to replace a worn-out gas main.

The work is expected to begin in the next week or so, and will last until October. However, National Grid says that not all the work will cause problems to drivers.

Jane Taylor of National Grid said: "We are replacing the entire main that runs between Malvern and Worcester, but quite a bit of it runs under fields, so there won't be be any disruption while we replace these sections."

However, the work will begin in the Powick area, where some disruption is inevitable.

But despite the inconvenience, the work will be welcomed by residents of Bastonford, who have been plagued by leaks from the 80-year-old pipe for years.

Mike Pearman, who lives there and serves on the parish council, said: “This has been a problem for a long time and people are fed up with it.

"It happens because the pipe is made of eight-foot long sections that contracts in the cold during the winter and the gas leaks out.

"The road has been dug up dozens of times, but it still leaks. You can smell gas in the air along the road all the way up to the Crown. It is a real worry, so we're glad that something is at last being done."