A COMPANY has been successfully prosecuted for not completing roadworks on time.

Consett magistrates ordered Northumbrian Water to pay a £500 fine and £190 costs after the firm admitted non-compliance with agreed working practices in Durham City last year.

Durham County Council took the case to court after an employee noticed work had not been completed at Durham City's New Elvet and Old Elvet junction at the agreed time of 3.30pm during one day of a six-week work programme.

Council business manager Dave Wafer noticed the work was causing a half-mile tailback in the city at about 5.05pm on August 14 last year

Work was continuing more than an hour and a half after it was due to be completed.

Speaking outside the court Durham County Council solicitor Patricia Holding explained that Mr Wafer had been stuck for more than 20 minutes on a coach.

She said: "The work was finishing about then but Mr Wafer, unlike other passengers and motorists, knew it should have been completed some time earlier.

"He made inquiries of another officer and we eventually took it up. We have had a lot of meetings about this prosecution and it has been a sensitive matter."

Northumbrian Water solicitor Paul Kelly asked the court to take account of the fact that the company had pleaded guilty at the first possible opportunity.

He added that the decision by the company's contractors had been made to try to prevent even further disruption. The workers had wanted to rectify a problem before the situation deteriorated further which would have meant the entire road would have had to have been dug up.

He said: "It was the wrong decision for our contractors, Kentons, to continue working and we accept that the final responsibility lies with us, but it was done in an attempt to actually reduce the impact to the public."

The court heard that it is the first time the company has ever been successfully prosecuted, even though it deals with an average of 4,500 pipe repair jobs involving digging up roads every month