Villagers driven round the bend as water voles hold up road works for six months

Locals in Flaxton, near York, say the main road into the hamlet has been shut since the end of April as workmen from North Yorkshire County Council planned repairs on an unsafe bridge and a culvert.

But they quickly spotted a large colony of water voles, who are a protected species, during breeding season and officials from Natural England were called in.

As the voles breed until the autumn, locals and businesses now face months of misery as the road will remain shut so the creatures are not disturbed.

Lorraine Ritchie, landlady of the Blacksmith's Arms in the village, says they are losing 700 a week during what should be one of their busiest periods of the year.

She said: 'It's having a drastic effect on our business and other businesses in the village. We've got a village pub, we've come through the recession, through one of the worst winters and now it's starting to pick up for the season we can't get on because of these water voles. The road's been shut for several weeks and there is no end in sight.

"People have also struggled to reach the village GP, and for our customers they have to make a six-mile detour through the village of West Lilling. There is the option of using the A64 but that is like a car park at weekends."

A spokesman for North Yorkshire County Council said it was trying to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. He said the council had applied to Natural England for a special licence which would allow them to move the water voles to a new home.

If the licence was approved, the removal work would take around three days and would be undertaken by a specialist team from Natural England. The repairs to the bridge would then take about two weeks.

The council spokesman said: 'We naturally apologise to anyone who has been adversely affected by this repair work. We are doing all we can to make sure the work is completed as quickly as possible.'