ROAD workers in Worcestershire have been spat at, punched and threatened by members of the public.

Bosses at Ringway, which carries out highways work across the county, say abuse from drivers is the “biggest risk” to its staff.

Regional director Nick Goddard and divisional director Richard Fryer were answering questions from councillors at a meeting of Worcestershire County Council’s environment overview and scrutiny panel on Monday (October 14).

“The two biggest risks to our people out on site are aggression from members of the public - and it’s approaching pandemic proportions, I kid you not - and danger from getting burns or electrocuted from underground surfaces,” said Mr Fryer.

“The acts of aggression that our people are having daily are phenomenal.

“[Former council highways lead] Jon Fraser has helped us tremendously in the past by raising awareness.

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“We’ve met MPs, we’ve met other councillors, we’ve done campaigns on BBC radio, we’ve had our officers interviewed, we’ve had people leave the industry because they’re no longer prepared to be spat at, threatened and punched.

“I’d like to think that all law-abiding citizens will abide by road closures but I can assure you there’s a lot of people out there that don’t take a blind bit of notice, regardless of whether the work is going on or not. It’s the biggest risk to our people.”

Cllr Adrian Kriss said: “I understand. I have actually seen it. Unless you have got a police officer sitting there - and a couple of days ago we did have - they drive on pavements, they will do anything to get through that way.”

Earlier in the meeting, Cllr Dan Boatright-Greene had said it was “infuriating” when roads are closed days before work starts.

“Where I live you get an eight-mile detour, so people get increasingly livid. When they realise the roadworks aren’t happening they then start driving through despite the fact it says ‘road closed’.”

He said residents get increasingly frustrated as they realise works aren’t taking place.

Chairman Alistair Adams said in a recent case, signs had gone up on a Friday but work didn’t start until the following Monday.

Mr Fryer said work was sometimes delayed because of the weather, at great cost to Ringway, but this was unavoidable.