A dangerous embankment has caused chaos in Welwyn amid fears of a landslide.

Contractors descended on London Road on Friday afternoon, and officials say they still do not know when the road will reopen.

Today (Tuesday), signs were placed up warning pedestrians of the dangers.

Bob Bryant, who lives nearby, told the Welwyn Hatfield Times: “What I understand is that it’s in danger of coming down.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that at the top there’s a graveyard, but the gravestones have been laid flat.

“If that comes down, it could bring down a cemetery.”

Another villager added: “It’s been chaos.

“I’ve seen drivers move the bollards and drive through the traffic restrictions. Others just turned around in the middle of the road not knowing the road was closed.

“There were also people waiting for a bus, not realising it was a bus that would never come.”

A joint statement from County Hall and contractor Ringway, branded the road closure an “emergency”.

It said: “An emergency road closure and diversion route was put in place late Friday afternoon when it came to light that an embankment was unstable.

“We immediately removed some trees on the embankment to reduce any risk, but further assessment of the structural stability of the embankment is required in order to ascertain what other work is needed to make the area safe.

“We will re-open the road as soon as it is safe to do so.”

A spokesman from County Hall said the authority was unable to confirm timescales at this stage.