BUSES were cancelled and traffic ground to a halt as a combination of roadworks, half term and the good weather caused chaos on the roads.

There was gridlock throughout the afternoon in Brighton and Hove with ten minute journeys reportedly taking up to an hour.

The problems started soon after midday, when Brighton and Hove Bus Company tweeting passengers to warn them of possible delays and cancellations.

Martin Harris, chief executive of the company, said the works along Lewes Road were one of the main problems as almost half of the fleet passing through the area.

He said: “We have had problems this week with it being half term. I think it’s worse because it’s a Friday. On Wednesday it was 7pm to 7.30pm before it returned to normal and I expect the same today.”

At 5.30pm the company was reporting services in the city were running more than an hour late.

There were more than 100 sets of road works in the city yesterday, with companies including Southern Water, Virgin Media and Brighton and Hove City Council making improvements.

The council classed 11 sets of works as “high impact” with “delays likely” while 21 were said to “medium impact” and “delays possible”.

High impact works included the long-running improvements at the Vogue Gyratory in Lewes Road, gas works at the bottom of Dyke Road and the new bus lanes in Edward Street near the police station.

Simon Kirby, Brighton Kemptown MP, has called for a review of the works in Lewes Road, stating the scheme is leading to increased traffic in the surrounding areas.

He said: “I always encourage people to use public transport, cycle and walk but the reality is that isn’t always possible. I think the council need to be mindful of that.

“When you take away road space, drivers are going to look for others routes and that is creating problems elsewhere.”

The MP said more should be done to make sure roadworks were carried out at the most convenient time.

He said: “I do think there needs to be better planning. If you look at the works being carried out to the railway it is planned for Christmas.

“Half term is clearly not a good time and I think there should be better planning.”

Steve Percy, from the People’s Parking Protest group, said the city’s infrastructure was “not fit for purpose”.

He said: “I had to go to the hospital the other day and whichever way I went it was gridlock. I think the council needs to better plan when they carry out roadworks.

“But the infrastructure is not there in the first place any more.

“With all these schemes being brought in there simply isn’t enough road space.

“It is annoying for drivers but I think the main problem is for the emergency services. They can’t get through traffic anymore.

“For drivers it doesn’t matter too much being five minutes late, but for the emergency services it could be the difference between life and death.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “A mix of beautiful sunny weather means more people are visiting. There are a couple of essential utility works and some council improvement works which we are working hard to complete as soon as possible.”