ELMSTEAD Lane, Chislehurst, will close this evening for four days to allow Thames Water to repair a collapsed sewer.

The road will close from 8pm today (March 6) and will remain closed until after the weekend, with repair work expected to take around four days.

Local diversions will be in place, but motorists are advised to seek alternative routes and allow extra time for journeys.

Councillor Colin Smith, Executive Councillor for Environment, said: "There is clearly an environmental health issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

"Motorists and local residents can be assured that we are pressing Thames Water and their contractor, H2O Metrorod, to finish this job as quickly as possible.

"We understand and reluctantly accepted the need to close the road to enable repairs to go ahead and will be closely monitoring progress that is made."

The collapsed sewer is located on or near the roundabout, at the junction with Sundridge Avenue.

Residents are assured that, while work will be carried out over the weekend, there is no intention to carry out work overnight.

For more information call H2O Metrorod, the Thames Water contractor on 0845 1687719 or 0845 1687718.