RESIDENTS, living near to the site of the punctured gas main that caused traffic chaos in Launceston, helped to keep the community moving last week.

Firefighters from Launceston Community Fire Station cordoned off an area around the punctured main on a building site on Tavistock Road, A388, near the Stourscombe estate, at around 12.40pm last Wednesday. Emergency gas engineers were called to deal with the gas leak.

Vehicles trying to head east on the A388 towards Stourscombe were seen turning round to avoid the area.

The entrance to the Stourscombe estate was closed, and some local residents, including Les Whaley, spent three hours directing traffic down a single track footpath at Stourscombe hamlet.

Mr Whaley, who is listed as a contact in the Launceston Community Emergency Plan alongside some of his neighbours, raised his concern about the lack of police presence on the site during the incident.

He said: “The council offered accommodation if we needed it but we didn’t. We needed liaison with the police.

“I rang the police, 999, three times for their assistance to direct traffic from Stourscombe to Polson Bridge.”

Mr Whaley said there was a policeman on site, but he was ‘radioed back to the office’.

He added: “I was very, very disappointed nobody came back.

“If it had been a major disaster, if police don’t respond, I don’t know what will happen.

“It’s worrying. We have got to emphasise there are 400 houses on our estate and people were very desperate to go to hospital, the surgery, and pick up their children from nurseries.

“Lots and lots of people were very frustrated — they couldn’t get in or out.”

The local residents helped direct traffic down what is locally known as ‘Muddy Lane’.

Mr Whaley added: “We did our best for three hours to direct traffic through, to be told by two neighbours they objected to it.

“Part of that lane, we were told, was private. I didn’t know that. So they really objected to us using that lane.

“[Stourscombe] is a dead end estate and the new estates across the road are going to be the same — all dead ends coming out on Tavistock Road.

“Cornwall Council has allowed estates to be built that are cul-de-sacs.”

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council said: “Highway access is a consideration when planning permission is granted, however, it isn’t possible to plan for every remote eventuality. There is also legislation that requires service providers to maintain a form of public access from the highway while they carry out emergency works.”

Town councillor Paul O’Brien, who was involved in putting the Launceston Community Emergency Plan together, said: “My understanding is that a couple of ex-Stourscombe Residents’ Association people took it on themselves to, in effect, open up Muddy Lane to provide emergency access and I think they did absolutely the right thing, and I’m very grateful to them.

“With the kerfuffle that’s happened, it’s obvious we need to look at that aspect of our emergency plan more — we will do so very soon indeed.”

Liberal Democrat Cornwall Councillor Jade Farrington described the incident as a ‘difficult and fraught situation’.

She said: “Huge thanks to everyone involved for their patience and hard work.

“The emergency services were brilliant and residents helped one another with information, collecting children from school and directing traffic.

“Residents at Stourscombe hamlet were also very kind in putting up with traffic needing to use their footpath to exit the estate. Please remember that it is not a road and should not be used by vehicles except in an emergency. A second removable bollard will be going in to help enforce this.”