HOLIDAYMAKERS heading for Wales were left seething when the Old Severn Bridge was closed to traffic on Saturday morning due to an "unprecedented" number of toll staff reporting sick.

With not enough people to man the tollbooths, Highways England took the decision to close the westbound M48 until 2pm, diverting motorists onto the M4 Second Severn Crossing - where there were long delays until well into the afternoon.

It was the first time that staff shortages had forced such a closure, on a road used by around 17,000 cars a day.

Highways England said it made the decision to close the tolls to protect the safety of staff and drivers.

Head of Operations at the Severn Bridges Rob Llewellyn said: “We apologise for any inconvenience that the closure of the M48 Old Severn Bridge may have caused.

"Due to an unprecedented level of illness affecting the team, including that of a safety critical role, we were unable to adequately staff the toll plaza and were therefore not able to maintain adequate levels of safety for drivers and our staff.”

Those who WERE available for work had been transferred to the Second Severn crossing - recently renamed the Prince of Wales Bridge - to assist colleagues and to ensure that the toll plaza was fully operational to accommodate additional traffic, he said.

Motorists stuck in tailbacks there in the sweltering heat, however, soon took to social media, many demanding to know why the old bridge couldn’t have been left open free of charge.

One person tweeted: "Only in the UK - staff shortage due to sickness at Severn Bridge means there is not enough staff to collect the toll - so what do they do? Allow cars to cross for free? No - they close the bridge!! #jobsworth".

Another said: “How can you shut a major route just because you can’t collect some money?”

And a third: ”So if you run out of staff on the Second Severn Crossing you’re going to close both bridges and cut off South Wales? Someone needs to sort this out fast.”

Highways England, however, told the Beacon that tolls are collected under the Severn Bridges Act and can only be suspended in extreme circumstances for public safety reasons.