THE A50 Holmes Chapel Road at Toft will remain closed for a third night tonight, Wednesday, ahead of partially reopening late on Thursday.

The carriageway at the junction with Middlewich Road collapsed on Monday night, leading Cheshire East Council Highways teams to closing the road in both directions while undertaking 'major repairs'.

Repairs to two collapsed culverts are ongoing at the junction with Middlewich Road, between Goughs Lane and Seven Sisters Lane.

The council advises that a diversion is in place, via Chelford Road through Ollerton.

Its Highways team posted on Twitter: "Advice is to avoid area if possible. Diversion is in place through Seven Sisters Lane, Chelford Road & Adams Hill."

The road was initially closed to traffic around 10pm on Monday night, and will now remain closed until at least Thursday morning.

A Cheshire East Council spokesman on Tuesday evening called the collapse in the centre of the road 'significant'.

The road remains will remain closed through Wednesday night and into Thursday, with plan to partially reopen the road in the evening.

The Highways team liaised with United Utilities during the investigation.

They tweeted on Wednesday afternoon: "Investigations are now complete and the source of the 10 metre wide road collapse has been identified as two collapsed culverts, as a result of historic third party works.

"The deep collapse is in the centre of the road, requiring a road closure to protect the safety of road users.

"We have been working closely with United Utilities to consider options to rectify the issue, and major repair work is now underway.

"Repairs are progressing well, and the road will be partially reopened tomorrow late afternoon/evening., with temporary traffic lights in operation to allow traffic to pass the works.

"The diversion along Seven Sisters Lane, Chelford Road A537 and Adams Hill will remain in place until tomorrow afternoon.

"Temporary traffic signals at the junction of Seven Sisters Lane and Chelford Road are there for safety reasons, and will continue to be manually operated during peak travel hours to help ot minimise congestion that has been reported.

"Please continue to plan your journey, and avoid the area if possible."