THERE are delays on the A27 after police shut the road to remove an unstable tree.

The westbound highway was shut completely at Falmer shortly before 12.30pm due to concerns the tree could topple into the road at any moment.

Police attended the scene, and oversaw work to remove the hazard.

The Argus:

Sergeant Richard Hobbs of the Sussex Roads Policing Unit was one of the officers at the scene.

Notifying drivers of the road closure on social media, he said: "(There is a) very unstable rotten tree which could fall on to the road.

"Work is underway to chop it down and we will get the road open as quickly as we can." westbound is closed due to a

One lane of the A27 was reopened at about 1pm to allow some cars to pass.

The Argus:

An AA traffic update has reported lengthy delays in the area with "congestion back to the Southerham roundabout and on the other side back to Falmer".

It stated: "There is queueing traffic due to an (unstable) tree on the A27 Falmer Hill westbound from the A277 Brighton Road (Ashcombe Roundabout) to the B2123 The Drove (Falmer/Rottingdean Junction)."

At 1.14pm, Sgt Hobbs said the road was being reopened.

But he warned that there were "long tailbacks in the area".

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