A Sussex MP has called for 24-hour roadworks in a bid to limit disruption for motorists.

Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, has criticised the decision to halt work every day at 10pm on a new drainage system on the A27 between Lewes and Falmer.

The roadworks have caused huge tailbacks since they began earlier this month and traffic jams are expected to continue until late September.

The Highways Agency claims work has to stop because it cannot dispose of waste materials during the night.

But Mr Baker disputes this and believes more should have been done at the planning stage to ensure the works could be done 24 hours a day.

He said: "It is quite simply unacceptable that roadworks on a key arterial route such as the A27 do not continue overnight in order to reduce the number of weeks when the road is affected.

"I have spoken to the highways authority about this matter and I do not, quite frankly, consider the issues of disposing of extracted materials to be a valid reasons for not working overnight.

"I cannot understand why they did not come up with a system to remove these materials through the night or store them to be collected in the morning.

"This issue should have been considered weeks ago and a solution found before the works began."

Mr Baker said he had received a number of complaints from constituents about the roadworks.

He said: "When these latest works started we still had roadworks on the A259, which meant both the main roads west to Brighton out of Lewes were disrupted.

"People accept the work needs to be done and appreciate when it is done out of school time but it is not acceptable it has to take such a long time."

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said: "We are working hard to minimise disruption to motorists at a particularly difficult time while essential road works take place in and around Lewes.

"By the end of September most of these disruptions will be over."

The new drainage system is designed to make the road safer by reducing surface water.

Monday August 16, 2004