Commuters and traders are facing five days of misery after three-way temporary traffic lights were installed on a major city route.

Thames Water are currently carrying out repairs to a pipe on Botley Road near to St Frideswides Church.

The work, that is causing delays of up to 40 minutes, is being carried out for a single customer, the Oxford Mail can reveal.

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Traffic has been queuing back to the A34 and simultaneously causing lengthy delays for those trying to leave the city.

A Thames Water spokesperson said:  "We responded to a report of no water, on Botley Road in Oxford on Thursday 16 March.

Oxford Mail:

"Our teams are currently on site making the necessary repairs to restore water to the customer and we expect to complete the repair early next week.”

Thames Water confirmed that the customer affected would be provided with bottled water until their water supply is restored.

The three-way temporary traffic lights are not due to be removed until Tuesday (March 21).

Schools and businesses on and around the Botley Road have been affected by the disruption.

An office administrator for West Oxford Community Primary School on Ferry Hinksey Road said: “It took me the best part of an hour to get to work this morning and I was half an hour late.

“Several other colleagues were also affected by the traffic.

“We had about 20 children who were late to school and it was impacting pretty much every family that drove in.”

Oxford Mail:

Joe Devlin spoke to the Oxford Mail about the impact the three-way temporary traffic lights were having on his business.

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Mr Devlin runs the deli Pickle and Lime on Botley Road.

He said: “It [the traffic] does have an affect on the business.

“People are not coming into the shop when they have to queue for 40 minutes to get up the Botley Road.

Thames Water have apologised for the delays caused by the works.

The water company’s spokesperson continued: "Three-way traffic lights will remain in place until the repair is carried out.

"We are sorry to residents and motorists for any disruption during this time.

“At present, we are not aware of a wider customer impact, but we’d encourage local residents to reach out to us if they are experiencing low pressure or no water.

Oxford Mail:

“They can contact us via our website www.thameswater.co.uk or by calling 0800 316 9800."

The current delays on Botley Road come as Oxford braces itself for the closure of the road on April 11.

Botley Road will remain closed until October while major works are carried out to improve Oxford railway station.

The development is set to cost £161 million and will include re-routing utility cables, replacing the Botley Road rail bridge, and starting to build a new western entrance to the station.