Villagers were out in force to say "they have been patient enough" after finding out a major road is going to be closed again for four months in the new year.

People living in Tatenhill have suffered for the best part of a year as a result of Branston Road being closed and with the opening put back a further three weeks until December, they have now learned it will be closed again from January 2 to May 15, 2018.

At least 50 people from the village and surrounding areas have now decided that enough is enough and gathered at The Horseshoe Inn, in Main Street, where they were greeted by landlord Adam Slater and Melanie Wright, who organised the meeting.

The gathering was organised so locals could put questions to the council and gather signatures on a petition against the closure was handed around.

Images from a drone taken earlier inn the day were also on display showing the work that had been done on the road. The group then made its way to the village hall en masse so people could make their voices heard.

The road has been closed to allow for changes to the road layout for the new secondary school, which is to be run by John Taylor High School.

Villagers gathered at The Horseshoe Inn, in Tatenhill

Mrs Wright organised the gathering through social media with the support of the pub landlord after realising how many people in the village had been affected by the closure of the road. They were met at the drop-in session, organised by Staffordshire County Council, by representatives from contractors Amey but some residents were left angry as no-one from the council turned up.

However, a spokesman from the authority explained that representatives from the highways teams were present and engineers fielded questions from the public. They will be feeding back any comments to the county council.

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Mrs Wright said the idea behind the meeting came about when she was talking to Mr Slater in the pub, who informed her he had seen a significant drop in takings since the road was closed.

She said: "Ever since Adam has taken over as landlord he has been up against it with the road closures and I know the parish council has been doing a lot regarding the road and the new school but they did not seem to be getting much support locally.

"I said we needed to come at it from a local perspective to get some answers so I decided I would have to do something. This is affecting people far and wide, not just in the village. I have not been affected as much as some of the guys as some people are right up against it."

Melanie Wright organised the gathering of villagers in Tatenhill

The meeting was organised through social media and by a leaflet drop. The pub's bar was almost full of people ready to air their grievances. People also turned up from further afield who had been struggling as a result of the road closure.

With Branston Road shut, people have had to drive to Henhurst Hill or Barton under Needwood to get into Burton, meaning a two-minute journey has been taking them 15 minutes and increasing the amount of petrol they are using.

Earlier this week it was announced the closure had been extended until December after unmarked cabling was found underground.

The discovery of the telecoms cable located within the new drainage works means the road will stay closed until December 6 to allow further work at the site.

The major works in Tatenhill have involved the removal of an existing road, construction of a new road and roundabout, and a new footway and cycleway. It is all part of the infrastructure required for the brand new secondary school which is due to open in September 2018.

Helen Fisher, the council's cabinet support member for highways and transport, said: "These works are essential to ensure the entire infrastructure is in place to serve the new school, businesses and future residents.

"Not only are we constructing a new road and roundabout, we are also installing services, traffic signs, street lighting and marking out the roads.

"The discovery of this unmarked cable in the road means we will need to do extra work, causing the road closure to continue until December.

"We realise that any road closure and diversion can cause disruption, but our engineers are working hard to ensure this is kept at a minimum."