HIGHWAYS officials have today been urged to take action over a nightmare stretch of busy road that keeps being hit by flooding.

Hundreds of commuters were stuck again yesterday morning when the A31 road westbound, near Cadnam, was hit by heavy rain. By 8am, tailbacks stretched nine miles and drivers were warned to expect delays of up to one hour.

But when they complained, council officials at the site told them they would have to wait for the water to clear naturally.

Police at nearby Lyndhurst now want highways officials to install a pump to help channel the excess water further along the road, where drainage is better.

A spokesman said: "A couple of weeks ago we spent five hours sitting in a patrol car just monitoring a flood and waiting for highways officials to arrive.

"We agree something should be done. We don't want two lanes of traffic backed right up to the county border and can understand motorists' feelings at having to sit in queues like that.

"The problem is the drainage. It just doesn't do its job properly, leaving a stretch of about 200 metres which gets flooded."

And the AA warned that unless something is done motorists were taking a risk every time they used the road in the rain, and should drive with extreme caution.

A spokesman for the firm's Roadwatch team said: "It's a major commuter road. There is just no other route for motorists to take to get around the floods."

The A31, used as a main commuter route to the M27 and Dor-set, is prone to severe flooding. A fortnight ago, two motorists collided after one skidded on the water, although no one was badly hurt.

This year the government doubled the amount of cash given to road maintenance, but freak weather and heavy rainfall mean most of it will be used in trying to keep roads in a usable state.

The Highways Agency, which is directly responsible for the road, was unavailable for comment.