A major roundabout at the entrance to Helston is having to be resurfaced for the second time in seven weeks.

Two nights of road closures are due to begin today on all three approaches to the Cottage Hospital roundabout, which leads to the Lizard Peninsula past RNAS Culdrose.

The roads will be shut between 7pm and 7am on January 11 and 12, so that Cornwall Council contractors CORMAC can make good damage that has already begun appearing to the surface of the road around the roundabout, which only had work carried out on it at the end of November.

A spokesperson for Cornwall Council told the Helston Packet: "Resurfacing works are taking place at the Cottage Hospital roundabout for the second time in the past 12 months due to a material fault.

"CORMAC will be bearing all costs associated to carrying out the remedial works and there will be no additional costs to Cornwall Council."

It is the second time this week that the work of CORMAC has been called into question, after St Keverne Parish Council gave a damning view of the speed the contractors worked at, when was revealed a team took three days to dig out one ditch near St Keverne.

The issue was raised by councillor Anthony Richards, who said a “little job” at Tregaminion, involving clearing earth from a 30-yard ditch with a mechanical digger took three days.

“The old system of a couple of men with a pick-up and some shovels would have done it in less than a day – they were there with a digger. It’s ridiculous,” he said.

Mr Richards added that with Cornwall Council’s budget being cut by central government once again, “CORMAC seems to waste money like there’s no tomorrow.”

He said he did not blame the workers themselves, but the person who allocated that amount of time for “a piddling job.”

Councillor Sarah Lyne agreed, saying that in Coverack at that time there was a lorry, two JCBs, four men and a set of traffic lights just to clear some ditches.

Councillor Russell Peters said it used to be that local firms carried out this type of job in agreement with Cornwall Council “with nowhere near this cost.”

“All of a sudden they have to bring in the big boys. We the ratepayers could be a lot better off if that [former system] was worked throughout the county. It’s just a tragedy that this sort of thing is being pushed aside,” he added.