Contractors carrying out roadworks which are causing chaos in Mid Wales have claimed they are being threatened and verbally abused.

A spokeswoman for Dyfed-Powys Police today confirmed that they had received reports concerning the safety of workers carrying out the re-surfacing roadworks for the Welsh Assembly along the A458 at Llanerfyl.

The spokeswoman said they had been contacted by Powys County Council claiming workers feared for their safety and had asked for police assistance.

No-one was available for comment from the Welsh Assembly. But Powys County Council spokesman John Evans said: “We were contacted by the workers who asked for help after threats from members of the public on April 30.

“One was about a threat of being hit by a brick, the other by a man who threatened to use an air rifle on the workers.

“We contacted the police about this matter and they logged it, but trunk roads are the responsibility of the Welsh Assembly.”

Sian George, Dyfed-Powys Police spokeswoman, said: “We were told that workers working on the A458 have been experiencing threats and verbal abuse.

“They asked for police assistance the following day and an officer went out to where they said they would be working, however when the Pc arrived, there was nobody on site.”

Motorists have faced long delays and diversions due to the roadworks over the past two weeks.

Judy Stretton, of the village, said residents had been left stranded while the main trunk road was closed for re-surfacing works.

She said: “It was chaos with the roadworks going on, especially over the Bank Holiday weekend when there was so much traffic being stopped and diverted or sent back. At one point I am told a farmer threatened to get his shotgun out of the boot and that he wasn’t afraid to use it.

“This whole thing has proven to me that if this much chaos is caused by these roadworks, what is it going to be like when roadworks to bring windfarm parts through happen?

“They say they are going to make half-mile laybys for the lorries – the whole thing is going to cause complete chaos for us.”

By Andrew Morris