HIGHWAYS staff have been criticised for carrying out resurfacing work during the prestigious Exmoor Golden Horseshoe endurance ride.

At one stage, horses and riders had to contend with the sights and sounds of heavy machinery as they rode across the B3223 close to Birch Cleave Wood, Simonsbath, on Monday morning.

Extra marshals were called in and highways staff eventually agreed to work on a different stretch of road until the day's ride had finished.

Simonsbath businesswoman Carole Woods said the work caused huge traffic delays, which, in turn, led to frustrated motorists driving more quickly to try and negotiate the temporary lights and roadworks.

"It was all going on right underneath the noses of the horses. It was chaos.

"There was no advance notice, they just moved in and started digging the road up," she said.

But a spokesman for Somerset County Council said the authority would have scheduled the work for a different day had staff been told about the annual ride.

"We were not officially informed of the Golden Horseshoe event taking place and had we known, we would have scheduled work with the event in mind.

"We are in discussions with the organiser and aim to work together next year to help co-ordinate the event," the spokesman said.

The surface patching continued on Tuesday as scheduled.

This year, more than 200 riders took part in the event, including international three-day eventer and four times British evening champion Mary King.

She rode the first 25 miles of a 50-mile competition before hopping out the saddle and hot-footing it to France for a three-star horse trial.

The Golden Horseshoe itself took horses and riders across 100 miles in two days, while there were also two 50-mile classes and a 75-mile Exmoor Stag ride.