COTSWOLD MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has said he will "fiercely fight" any permanent closure of the 'old A40', which was used by some drivers to avoid the congested A40.

Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) closed the road indefinitely on September 15 due to damage to a retaining wall.

The road had been temporarily closed under emergency powers in 2015 after an inspection showed that damage to the wall made it unsafe for road users.

Mr Clifton-Brown has now joined calls by county councillor Paul Hodgkinson to reopen the road, which links villages including Yanworth, Compton Abdale and Hazleton with Northleach.

The MP, who inspected the damaged wall with Gloucestershire Highways officials, said: "I will fiercely fight any permanent closure and I urge Highways officials to open the road in one form or another as soon as possible.

"This should certainly be sooner than 2019-20, which Gloucestershire Highways are currently proposing."

Gloucestershire Highways have confirmed that it intends to start repair works to the wall in 2019/20, but said this could change depending on priorities.

Mr Clifton-Brown said that it would be preferable to reopen the road with only the upper carriageway open rather than having a complete closure.

He said the problem with the old A40 is that it has relatively low vehicle usage and any solution is likely to be costly. The repair works will therefore have to compete with other roads where the usage is much higher.