AS public relations cock-ups go, it’s somewhere in the middle of the range.

The closure of the Canford Bottom roundabout yesterday after contractors apparently hit the main gas pipe through the site, was probably the last thing the Highways Agency would have wanted.

Scores of people were forced to leave their homes, thousands of drivers had to find alternative ways of getting around and many households experienced a significant drop in gas pressure as the repair work went on yesterday.

To say the road scheme is not the most popular piece of highway engineering in Dorset is probably something of an understatement.

Local residents already think it’s hugely disruptive and a complete waste of taxpayers’ money - just a government sponsored vanity project in the run-up to the Olympics.

The Highways Agency might want to ensure there are no more hiccups.