TRAFFIC chaos ensued when a horsebox broke down in a tiny country lane in Shalford.

A traffic jam quickly built up on Sunday in Codham Mill Lane, a single track road too narrow for vehicles to pass each other on.

Keith Daniel, a Wethersfield Parish Councillor, said: “Throughout Sunday I was receiving emails, telephone calls and calls to my home from local residents who were angry with the situation.

“Some of them told me that they had missed appointments; others had had to abandon trips to the local store in Shalford and one family, visiting relatives in Codham, had had to abandon their car and carry their two year old child up the hill, past the broken down vehicle.

“We were lucky that no emergency vehicles needed to use the lane while this vehicle was anchored there, as they would have been unable to pass and following vehicles would probably have blocked them in and delayed them further.”

The historic lane is located near to the Codham Park Equestrian Centre.

Owner of the centre, Sharon Peters, said: “The driver was delivering horses to somewhere else in the village.

“The driver knows us and we were the first people she rang to help her. We rescued the horses and helped get the vehicle recovered.”

Nearby Bovingdon Road has been closed since September due to the deteriorating condition of a culvert underneath, meaning more vehicles are using Codham Mill Lane.

Ms Peters said: “Businesses have lost money from the closure. People have been put off coming to us this year and it is a big inconvenience to get to us with the road being shut – we have lost a lot of customers.”

A spokesperson for Essex Highways said: “The Equestrian Centre is doing all it can, including giving advice on their website, to urge drivers to use the official diversion, which is exactly what these drivers should be doing.

“The narrow road in dispute has a sign saying unsuitable for heavy goods vehicles.

“Work has started on repairs and these are due to be finished this autumn.”