CHAOS ensued on both rail and road in Farnham on Wednesday morning as gas works in Union Road brought rush-hour traffic to a standstill while a fatality on the Alton to Waterloo line caused major disruption to the South West Trains network.

Gas distribution firm SGN has warned that works to fix the faulty gas main at the junction of South Street and Union Road could last until the end of the week “at least” with extended hours to complete the job as quickly as possible.

Advance warning signs have been set up on selected roads to advise motorists and a signed diversion will be in place.

Hannah Brett, a spokesman for SGN, said: “There will be no right turn from South Street into Union Road while we’re carrying out our urgent repair. However, traffic can still turn left into Union Road from South Street. We’re sorry for any disruption while we carry out this essential repair.”

The repair works led to gridlock in the town centre roads and long tailbacks in approaching roads from all directions, with queues stretching deep into The Bourne, Wrecclesham, Hale and Folly Hill as well as the A31 Farnham bypass.

It was compounded by major disruption on the Alton to Waterloo train line after a person was hit by a train near Surbiton, preventing trains from running between Woking and Waterloo for much of Wednesday morning.