HUNDREDS of households in Calne had a two-day wait for their rubbish to be collected, due to a mix-up over road signs.

A three-month programme of work has started to reinforce the bridge which spans Abberd Brook and provides the only road link to part of Coleman's Farm and housing alongside Prince Charles Drive.

The bridge is being reinforced one lane at a time, but eventually the two lanes will be knitted together with concrete and then two-tonne vehicles will be prohibited from crossing the bridge for 48 hours.

But the signs showing the weight limit were put up prematurely and when a dustcart arrived on Tuesday it saw them and turned back.

James Sangster, 64, of Heron Close, said: "I rang North Wiltshire District Council on Wednesday when no one came and they promised it would be gone that night but, as far as I'm aware, it wasn't picked up until Thursday. My main concern is whether a fire engine can get across the bridge in a rush."

Wiltshire County Council's principal bridge engineer David Weston, said: "We apologise to people affected by the delay. It shouldn't happen again.

"When the concrete is setting the signs will go back up for 48 hours, but there will be an exemption for emergency vehicles. There will not be a time when the estate cannot be served by emergency vehicles."