A WATER pipe which has burst more times than any other in the region – creating chaos on one of the main roads to the Yorkshire Dales – is finally being replaced.

The 500-metre section on the A684 at Leeming Bar, near Bedale, has burst ten times during the past five years, making it Yorkshire Water’s most notorious stretch of pipework on its 62,000- mile network.

The water main is being replaced as part of a wider £4m programme to upgrade the ageing system.

Matt Thompson, of Yorkshire Water, said: “Residents and businesses have been extremely supportive of this work and we want to reassure them that we will do everything we possibly can to minimise any disruption.

“Hopefully, once we have the new pipe in place, interruptions to supplies will become a thing of the past.”

County Councillor Carl Les said: “We do welcome this – it has been a big problem, although there are other issues in the area with drainage and sewage.

“But it is going to mean four-way traffic lights on the main A684 for four weeks, and a further two weeks of two-way traffic lights, which is going to add considerably to delays on the road.”