THE A358 main road from Williton to Taunton was closed by a mudslide following heavy rainfall on Tuesday for the third time in four months.

Although a different stretch of road was affected this time, between Station Road, Bishops Lydeard, and Combe Florey, the cause was thought to be the same.

Previously, the road at Combe Florey on the Williton side of the West Somerset Railway was closed twice in August and September when hundreds of tonnes of mud and potatoes were washed from nearby fields.

Somerset County Council highways portfolio holder Cllr Mike Rigby, who lives in Bishops Lydeard, said motorists were understandably frustrated.

Cllr Rigby, who previously said the council would be talking about agricultural practices with the farmer involved, said the authority would ‘fix the problem’.

He said: “It is incredibly frustrating for us as the local highway authority that this is happening.

“We try and always work consensually with landowners, but where that does not work we have the power under the Highways Act to go in and carry out work and send a landowner the bill.”

Water and debris washed onto the carriageway on Tuesday and caused chaos for early morning drivers when it had to be closed for more than an hour, reopening at about 7.45 am.

Traffic heading toward Taunton was still able to negotiate the route while county council highways teams undertook a clear-up operation.

Elsewhere, there was flooding on the A39 at Kilve, and a flood alert was issued by the Environment Agency for rivers and streams across West Somerset.