Flooding on Dorchester bypass has not been solved by Highways England – because the land is too waterlogged!

Town councillor Fiona Kent-Ledger says the news comes as "no surprise". She has long questioned the sense of putting the route on a flood plain.

Problems on the road have become worse in recent years with flooding mid-way along the road on the eastbound carriageway and at the junction to the Max Gate roundabout where the slip road is often coned off because of flood waters. It also frequently floods at the Poundbury roundabout, the highest point on the whole road.

In a statement to Dorchester Town Council the highways agency said: "We have been unable to install either a surface mounted additional storage chamber because of visibility issues and footprint of the chamber, or a submerged chamber because of the high water table and other water dynamic-related obstacles."

The statement said that work would be carried out in the current financial year when the agency would also "incorporate additional drainage features to help cope with future events".