A Uttoxeter businessman has blasted a police road closure which "funnelled" lorries down narrow residential streets when a "4ft deep" sinkhole appeared.
Darren Newton says the hole opened up where High Street meets Cheadle Road in the late afternoon of Friday, June 22.
The 39-year-old claims police 'massively overreacted' by shutting High Street from Indian Spice to the old wharf area for several hours.
He says lorries and buses dealt with the closure by cutting through Manor Road, which is full of parked cars, and Park Street.
The cleaning firm boss said: "There's no way you can fit a bus up Manor Road.
"At one point, I helped a bus driver turn round there because he couldn't get through.
"The police were watching lorries and buses unable to get through and weren't knocking on doors asking people to move their parked cars.
"There are always loads on Manor Road.
"I've got an American RV and I struggle to get down Park Street, let alone Manor Road.
"Eventually, they just reopened the roads and put a small cordon around the hole, which they could've done in the first place.
"The hole was about 4ft deep, but was so close to the kerb they could have easily just closed half the road. It caused absolute chaos.
"It was the worst handling of such a situation by the police I've ever seen - a huge overreaction.
"If we actually did have a genuine disaster, we'd be in trouble.
"At no point did they create a proper and sensible diversion route, which should have been signposted from the Three Tuns.
"Instead, they effectively funnelled traffic up and down Park Street.
"To be honest, I found it quite funny really and my daughters and I even had a selfie next to the sinkhole."
A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "Safety concerns due to an exposed gas pipe led to officers on the scene closing the road down.
"We then liaised with Highways England and sought advice from them on when it was safe to reopen the roads and the appropriate response.
"We would like to thank the local community for their cooperation."
Helen Fisher, Staffordshire County Council transport boss, said: "Our highways crews were notified of a small sink hole in the road on Friday and attended the site to make the area safe.
"Crews are now working with the water and gas utility companies to identify the exact cause of the problem and will be scheduling in any repairs as necessary."
