A major road has been closed after a combine harvester hit a walkway, rupturing a gas pipeline.

Dorset Council said it happened on the A30 at Greenhill in Sherborne, Dorset, on Thursday. It has warned people to avoid the area.

The arterial route, which links the town to the west country and London, has caused problems for six months after a wall was damaged by a motorist.

Further work at a nearby junction is also taking place.

SGN gas engineers are repairing the damaged pipe and Dorset Highways are at the scene, the council said.

Simon Beard, owner of electrical repair shop Godden and Curtis on Greenhill, said: "Neighbours told me it happened after an HGV and the combine harvester tried to pass each other. There've been fire engines and police everywhere."

The closure of the road comes on top of months of delays and diversions after a wall adjacent to a property on Kitt Hill was damaged in February, closing that section of the A30.

It partially reopened at the end of April along with adjoining Cornhill, which only reopened in one direction.

Repairs to the wall at a private property are yet to be completed. The roadworks for this issue are due to continue until 18 September, according to the council's website.

Mr Beard said compounded with the gas pipe closure businesses across the whole town would be affected.

He said the consensus of opinion amongst traders in the town was that the council should "just get on and get [the wall] repaired and sort out the detail afterwards".

A third set of roadworks to upgrade crossings and create a cycleway is currently taking place at the bottom of Greenhill. They are due to end on 7 October.

The council has been approached for further comment.

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