A group of mating badgers have caused chaos to motorists in a quiet Lincolnshire village. Locals in East Halton are facing disruption after repair works to a crucial road through the village were paused for six months as a result of the breeding animals.

College Road is the quickest route for locals heading north and west out of East Halton, with hundreds of commuters set to face a painful 36-mile detour. The leader of North Lincolnshire Council has warned the “entire village” has been “left to live with danger, disruption and the slow erosion of its local services”. Councillor Rob Waltham described the delay as “frankly outrageous", adding: “We respect the importance of protecting wildlife, but the current situation has tipped completely out of balance.

“Farmers are being prevented from running their businesses properly, residents are facing daily disruption, and a vital village post office is now under threat.”

The council leader also urged Natural England (NE) to "urgent, pragmatic action" to accelerate the roadworks.

The 2.5-mile College Road was initially shut in October after highways bosses deemed it “no longer safe for motorists”, with repairs set to begin on October 13.

It was reported the road had sunk by two centimetres and was at risk of collapse as a result of damage by tunnelling badgers.

The road is set to remain closed until July 1 when work can restart following the badger breeding season.

Locals have expressed their disappointment over the delays.

One said: “Didn't know badgers have more right [sic] than humans shame. Shame the government can't sort themselves out."

A second local said: "This road has been collapsing for many years, but rather than addressing it earlier and needing to repair less damage, it's been left until one side of the road has collapsed.

"If things had been better organised, repair could have started after breeding season this summer, as it not like no one knew about the problem then."

Another added: “Our village shop is closed mostly as it gets no passing trade so why open and our village isn't important clearly."

The council previously tried to move the badgers away from the area but they returned to their original home near College Road.

The authority built an alternative sett for them to use while repairs to the road were carried out.

Badger numbers are estimated to have approximately doubled since full legal protection was introduced in 1992.

A spokesperson for Natural England said: "We issued North Lincolnshire Council with a licence on 13 October to carry out this work ahead of the badger breeding season.

"In exceptional circumstances, we can grant extensions to licences. We will be discussing next steps with North Lincolnshire Council in the new year."

Cllr Waltham has also since spoken to Natural England and said he is "pleased to say I've had a very positive and open conversation with Natural England".