TRAFFIC chaos hit the streets of Bolton on Monday night as part of the town centre came to a standstill.

United Utilities workmen are digging up several sections of Bank Street as a water pipe renewal scheme, and diverting traffic through Deansgate, Bolton, normally only used by buses.

The water company says the diversion is necessary to replace aging pipes and supply the town with clean water.

But the diversions caused havoc at the crossroads of Churchgate, Deansgate, and Bank Street during rush hour, with hundreds of motorists facing delays to pass the junction.

Pedestrians are also being warned to be extra careful. Traders in Deansgate, Bolton, say shoppers appear unaware that extra traffic is being diverted down the bus lane at the junction with Bradshawgate.

And they are urging people to be careful until the work is complete in two weeks time.

Susanna Walsh, aged 36, who works at the Frame Works Factory Outlet in Deansgate, said: "I am not happy about it. We have noticed a lot more traffic.

"It will probably cause delays and take us longer to get home."

But Blue Bus driver Brian Murphy, aged 54, of Chorley New Road, Heaton, said: "It's going to cause problems around here because it's always busy on the corner, by Woolworths. As a bus driver you have got to be very wary when you are driving round there and watch for people all the time. A car driver might not be as wary. I think it's dangerous."

A spokesman for United Utilities said: "We are sorry if this essential work is causing inconvenience to motorists travelling through the town centre.

"But we hope people will appreciate that bringing cleaner water to customers in the town centre is good news.

"We need to replace these Victorian water mains with modern plastic pipes and the only way to do that is by digging underground to get to them. We are using a technique called slip-lining, threading the new main through the old one, which means we can do the work much quicker than if we had to dig long trenches."

The works form part of a £1.5 million project started by the water company.

It will be one of the largest water projects to take place in Bolton since the town's supplies were first laid in Victorian times. The scale of the project means it has been divided into five phases, with work expected to be completed within 18 months.

Residents in Gilnow Road and Park Road will see their mains improved first, when 2.4km of pipes are replaced, with work scheduled for completion by the middle of June.