Residents in a rural community are being sent on a 37-mile diversion after a council left concrete barriers at the end of a lane without warning residents.

The official diversion from Llanthony Valley to Abergavenny takes as much as 90 minutes and takes drivers to Hay-on-Wye before the long journey back south into Monmouthshire.

However, this route, via Gospel Pass, is flooded in several areas. Locals say it has left farmers, businesses, school students and commuters cut off.

On Friday January 30, the barriers were placed in the middle of a road to block access due to a 13 metre landslip. Engineers have said they will continue to survey the landslip, but the road is expected to remain closed indefinitely until a resolution can be found.

Farmers removed the barriers on the night of Sunday February 1 when a medical emergency required an ambulance to attend the scene. Another similar incident occurred later that week, when a resident required CPR.

But the barriers were replaced on Thursday February 5, which now means anybody, including emergency services, trying to reach A&E at The Grange University Hospital faces a 52-mile, two-hour trip.

Residents remain angry that the council has not kept them informed, while their attention remains fixed on a faster solution.