Work to repair a gas pipe in Heywood will begin on Monday with motorists warned of road closures in the area.

Gas network Cadent has found a leak on an underground pipe, near Bamford Road’s junction with River Street and Clay Bank Street.

Using cameras to pinpoint the source, its engineers found that tree roots have damaged the pipe.

Read more: Business to collect Easter eggs to support homeless charity

This has resulted in gas leaking out and water getting in, which is impacting the supply of gas to nearby houses.

There will be no access from Bamford Road onto River Street at this location, and vice versa – there are two entrances to River Street and the other is not affected.

There will also be no access onto Clay Bank Street from Bamford Road, and vice versa.

Bus operators have been informed and it is expected that buses should still be able to travel in these works.

Cadent customer operations area manager, Chris Campbell, said: “Cutting down the tree is just not an option, so the only way we can fix this is to connect the houses into a pipe that runs on the opposite side of Bamford Road.

"We’ll put in a new section of pipe between the two locations.

“This means we need to ‘open cut’ in the carriageway, and therefore need to manage the flow of traffic around our work area.

“We’ll work on one side of the road, and then switch to the other, so that vehicles can still travel both ways – but with traffic lights.

Read more: Man in hospital after car rolled on side in crash

“We will start the work after rush-hour on Monday and aim to complete everything by the end of the week.

“We appreciate this is far from ideal, particularly given there are other substantial roadworks taking place in the area.

“We are monitoring this leak regularly, and it is under control.

"We can only do that as a short-term measure.

"We need to carry out these repairs both for safety reasons and to protect gas supply to these homes.”

Read more: Two new exhibitions at Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre

Cadent has consulted Rochdale Council’s highways department, while customer teams have notified local homes, schools and businesses.