WROUGHTON residents and councillors demand to know why new kerbstones are being dug up and replaced just two months after they were initially laid.

Swindon Services subcontractors started work on the A4361 between Red Barn and the Uffcott turning, just outside Wroughton, last November.

They were laying kerbstones as a safety measure because the stretch of road is one of Swindon's most notorious accident hotspots.

The kerbstones will hopefully stop motorists speeding and ploughing into nearby fields.

But the wrong sort of kerbstone was used along the half-mile stretch. So in January they started fitting the right type and have only just finished the job.

While the work took place, temporary traffic lights were in operation causing traffic delays and adding to the total bill.

Councillor Brian Ford (Wroughton & Chiseldon, Con) is horrified at the apparent waste of taxpayer's money.

He said: "I have already made enquiries about the road works and discovered they aim to make the road safer. The initial work cost £118,000 and I expect the error will have been extremely costly."

And Coun Ford is determined to find out the exact price of this mistake.

"This sort of work does not come cheap, so I will be finding out precisely how much money has effectively gone down the drain," he added.

Councillor Jemima Milton also wants answers.

She said: "I want to know exactly who is responsible before casting the blame. This is clearly an expensive business but if the subcontractors are at fault then they will be footing the bill."

Resident Carol Szlachta, 43, thinks there are better ways to spend taxpayer's money.

She said: "I have just received my council tax bill and it had gone up again. It's nice to know my money is being so well wasted. We should be spending money on schools, not building blunders. The road works have also been causing delays for months."

Sarah Deacon, spokeswoman for Swindon Council, said that the officer in charge of the matter was unavailable for comment.