AN articulated lorry was trapped in Ludlow for four hours after the town centre was reduced to chaos by traffic diversions.

Road works and the closure of Brand Lane resulted in a series of incidents.

In the worst of these, a large articulated lorry was stuck in the town centre for four hours and was only able to get out following the intervention of the police.

It eventually made its ‘escape’ by being escorted the wrong way down a one-way street via High Street and King Street.

The chaos had been predicted by Ludlow Mayor Tim Gill who wants to know if those responsible for the diversions will be charged for the police time.

But this was not the only incident and other problems included a lorry getting stuck under the bridge and the Sheet Road and the Broad Gate was also blocked by traffic trying to leave the town.

Coaches bringing visitors to Ludlow were also affected.

“They were seen circling the town like wasps around a jam pot trying to find any exit they could manage,” added Tim Gill.

“Needless to say the traffic enforcement officers who seem to always make Tuesday evenings in Ludlow were nowhere to be seen.”

The Mayor has criticised what he described as the ‘Tuesday swoop’ in which motorists in the Town Centre regularly get parking tickets.

Andy Boddington, Shropshire Councillor for Ludlow North said that one of the vehicles trapped in the town for a time was a coach carrying a group of foreign visitors to the town.

He said that both he and the town council had warned that the diversions would cause chaos but were ignored.

Andy Boddington praised the police for solving the problems by blocking off the one-way system and escorting the lorry out the wrong way up a one-way street.