THE hole-in-the-road drama in a north Hampshire village looks set to continue for the rest of the week and traffic chaos is predicted.

On Saturday afternoon a large hole opened up in the High Street, in Hartley Wintney, after a sewer collapsed.

A road maintenance crew attempted to repair the initial hole, but the surface caved in further, causing the hole to grow to a depth of three foot.

Thankfully no one was hurt but the road outside The Lamb Hotel has been closed ever since and is causing lots of traffic problems in the village.

County Councillor David Simpson, who is also a member of Hart District Council, said: "I would anticipate it to be chaos because it's such a busy main road.

"One feels sorry for those shops and businesses that rely on passing trade."

However, Councillor Dorothy Harvey, chairman of Hartley Wintney Parish Council, said that, so far, there have not been any problems.

She said: "There were no tailbacks at all, it has been remarkable. But having said that, the school children are on holiday and had they not been it would have been chaos.p>

"The people who are suffering the most are the traders on the village high street," she added.

Diversions are in place but water chiefs say it will take the rest of the week to fix the collapsed sewer, which caused the hole to appear.

Don Sharpels, press officer for Thames Water, said that engineers still do not know what caused the collapse but assured residents that it will not effect the way waste is pumped out of their homes.

He told The Gazette: "We have had engineers working on it and it looks likely that we will have it finished and the road will re-open by the end of the week."

Philip Bishop, landlord of The Lamb Hotel, was the first to discover the hole in the road and placed bollards on the road to warn drivers before contacting the Highways Agency.

Hartley Wintney villager Julie Russell was shocked to find the hole in the middle of the road when she popped down to the shops.

She said: "I am just a bit surprised really. Considering people drive over it on a regular basis, it was lucky nobody was over it at the time."

Charlotte Allison, press officer at Hampshire County Council, said: "Thames Water are aware of the urgency of the work but it must be done safely and it is worth checking there are no other leaks in the pipe nearby whilst the road is closed."

She explained that because of the depth of the hole, the repair work had to be completed in layers to ensure no further problems.

She added: "We'd like to assure the public that everyone is working to reopen the road as soon as possible but the safety of highway users must be paramount."