Motoring chaos in Winchester's traffic-choked city centre is to continue even longer after gas pipe repairs were delayed.

Workmen in High Street have uncovered a 6ft thick steel reinforced concrete slab.

That will delay the move into Southgate Street which had been due on Monday this week.

More utility pipes and cables than expected have also been discovered during the work.

The two-week delay will now put back the completion date to the middle of June, said a county council spokesman.

The forthcoming closure of Southgate Street is expected to cause even more delays than the current closure.

Graham Love, city centre manager, is co-ordinating claims for compensation by local businesses.

Mr Love said four or five had contacted him asking for details of how to claim, adding: "One business suggests its trade is down by 60 per cent."

The numbers may increase once the work moves into Southgate Street: "The closure in Southgate Street will cause greater disruption for everyone."

Councillor Tim Knight, executive member for environment, said: "It is extremely unfortunate that this scheme has been extended by two weeks because of the find.

"There is no getting away from the fact that these road closures will cause a significant level of disruption - but these gas works are absolutely necessary and the county council and the city council will be working very closely with contractors to help them keep delays to a minimum."

The Southgate Street closure will impact heavily on bus services too. Services disrupted include Service 1 (Stanmore), 69 (Fareham via Colden Common and Bishop's Waltham), Bluestar 1 (Southampton via Chandler's Ford) and Service 49A (Eastleigh via Colden Common).