Motorists were stuck in traffic for hours when cones cordoned off part of William Frost Way and the slip road outside Next near Longwater Retail Park on Sunday afternoon.

The chaos erupted at about 12pm on Sunday (July 18) at the Longwater Retail Park. (Image: Shannon Jamieson/Facebook)

But the council has admitted that the lanes should not have been closed during the daytime, adding that due to a mistake the cones had been put out too early.

Instead, the road should have been shut overnight when Anglian Water carried out repairs and maintenance work on that section of the road.

One local living in the nearby Queen's Hills estate - which has thousands of homes - said he raised concerns about the work with Norfolk County Council weeks ago because he feared it would cause traffic chaos in the area.

Longwater Retail Park near Costessey pictured here in 2014 (Image: Newsquest Archive)

Alexander Jackson, a father who has lived in Queen's Hills for the last 13 years, said he had written to Norfolk County Council and other councillors expressing his concern weeks ago after he discovered the work would be taking place.

An aerial pic of Queens Hills housing estate development, Costessey, when it was being built in 2010 (Image: Mike Page)

Mr Jackson said: "It's so predictable. I emailed all those who have spoken out about the issues in this........

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