CAMPAIGNERS are considering dramatic action to highlight the strain on Bridgwater's road network - by blockading one of the busiest routes into town.

People living in Puriton say they are prepared to block the A39 with their vehicles during a rush-hour, to highlight their daily struggle against huge tailbacks.

They say our major local routes, also including the A38 and M5, are bad enough already, before factoring in massive new developments like Hinkley Point C and the giant North-East Bridgwater project.

The rebel villagers in Puriton, led by their county councillor Mark Healey, say they understand the chaos their protest would cause but insist something needs to be done.

Cllr Healey is hoping to organise a village meeting to discuss the idea. He said: “We have two communities, Puriton and Woolavington, being barricaded in so we need to show we mean business.”

Villager Monica Brookes added: “It's dreadful; you're stuck at Puriton Hill forever and I always hear about accidents.”

However, county councillor David Hall, cabinet member for strategic planning and economic development, said a long-awaited traffic light scheme for the Silverfish junction on the A39 could be finished within the next few months and that “significant improvements” were on the cards for junction 24 of the M5, to cope with two housing developments at south Bridgwater.

He added that a park and ride system was proposed as part of the Hinkley Point C plans, and said highways chiefs were looking closely at the impact on local roads of EDF Energy's bid for a third nuclear power station.

Insp Shane Carey, of Bridgwater Police, said local officers will invite other interested parties to a joint meeting with Cllr Healey to try to draw up a resolution.