DOWNING Street reopened ahead of schedule on Saturday afternoon, bringing to an end a week of traffic chaos in the town centre.

Thames Water had set aside two weeks to complete the emergency sewer repairs between Ivy Lane and the Borough, potentially taking the road closure up to next Tuesday, June 11.

But to the great relief of many town centre traders and motorists, the utility company was able to complete the repairs and reopen Downing Street to traffic at 1pm on Saturday.

A spokesman for Thames Water said: "We initially scheduled two weeks to complete the repair, but did not know how long the work would take until we had dug down to the pipe.

"Favourable digging conditions and a relatively straight forward repair meant that we were able to complete the work by Saturday.

"We'd like to thank people for their patience during this must-do job and are sorry for any inconvenience caused."

For full story, see this week's Farnham Herald.