A RESIDENT was outraged when he spotted a traffic management crew member involved in the roadworks on Stourbridge Road fast asleep in a works van.
Phil Dolphin contacted The Standard on Wednesday (July 27) and asked us to investigate why the works had not only started earlier than promised by Worcestershire County Council but also why one of the on-site employees was asleep for over an hour in a van.
Mr Dolphin snapped the unsuspecting workman asleep in the Highways Maintenance vehicle about 9.35am and photographed the man again at 10.30am to find him in the same position.
The council claimed the planned works on Stourbridge Road have not yet started but added some workman were in place after reports of a gas leak.
A Worcestershire County Council spokesperson said: “These are emergency works and are unrelated to the planned works on Stourbridge Road, which are still scheduled to begin on Monday (August 1) once works on nearby Birmingham Road have been completed.”
The council has omitted responsibility for the worker himself and said that was the responsibility of Headways to deal with the employee.
A Headways spokesperson told The Standard the man was there to deal with the temporary traffic lights and the situation was being dealt with in house.
The company neglected to comment any further.
