Residents of a York suburb are furious their road is going to be dug up again - shortly after their lives were last turned upside down by major works.

And they say the upheaval could have been avoided had gas company Transco taken the chance to work with the council when the road was originally dug up.

Transco have told Heworth Green residents that 100 metres of gas mains is be replaced. Work starts on Monday and is set to last six weeks.

This comes just a few months after work on a new roundabout at the Heworth Road bottleneck junction caused chaos. Local motorists said they faced "an ordeal" every time they tried to enter or leave their drives because of long traffic queues.

Now they face going through it all again, and are asking why the pipes were not put in when the roundabout was being built.

"It is madness. The last lot of work has barely finished and now they are going to dig that lovely new roundabout up again." said one elderly resident, who did not want to be named.

His wife said: "It was awful when that was being built.

"We could barely get in and out of our property, there was noise and dust everywhere - now we might have to go through it all again."

Local councillor Cyril Waite said: "All the utilities were given six months notice that the roundabout would be done and were offered the chance to get in there at that time.

"Why they didn't I don't know. But I can understand the residents being annoyed."

A City of York Council spokesperson confirmed Transco was consulted about the roundabout.

"They were offered the chance to carry out any repairs then and declined. The council did all they could to ensure a situation like this would not arise," she added.

A spokesman for Transco apologised for any inconvenience caused by the works.

Increased traffic levels at the roundabout have affected the gas mains, meaning the work has had to be brought forward, he said.

The spokesman added: "Yes, the council gave us the opportunity but at that time the work was not required as there was nothing wrong with the main.

"We are gas, not road engineers, but the increased volume of traffic has definitely affected the main and there was no way we could have anticipated that."

The spokesman said the new, plastic pipes should last "for years to come."

He added: "It is all essential work as we provide a safe and reliable network so the people of Heworth Green can have gas available when they need it."

Meanwhile, temporary traffic lights will operate over three nights at the Rawcliffe roundabout on the York outer ring road beginning tomorrow while surfacing work is carried out.

The work is due to be completed early on Saturday.

Updated: 11:15 Tuesday, June 19, 2001