If you are wondering who is responsible for the latest village road closure – this time on Hambledon Road at Hydestile – do not blame the usual suspects. Blame a badger.

The road is completely closed in both directions, preventing any through traffic and causing a lengthy diversion through Witley and Milford.

But this time neither a utility company nor Surrey County Highways can be held responsible for the disruption. The guilty party is an industrious badger extending its sett under the road by digging a tunnel a foot wide. This has caused the road surface to sag and crumble.

Traffic light control has been in place for the last two weeks to prevent vehicles from driving over the crumbling surface and causing further damage. Yesterday road workers arrived to find the cause of the subsidence, and discovered the sett.

They have had to dig out into the road to uncover the extent of the tunnel, which will be blocked by cement. Then the hole will be filled and the surface repaired. This could take all week but the workers are hopeful they may have the road open by the end of Wednesday.

Badgers are common in the area and their setts can be extensive, running for hundreds of yards with many vegetation-lined chambers and often numerous entrances. It is to be hoped that the badger (or badgers) responsible for the tunnel will adhere to the words of the Bernard Cribbins comic song. “Don’t Dig There, Dig It Elsewhere…”