A QUIET rural road near Falmouth became gridlocked for almost an hour this afternoon after a stand-off between a bus and a tractor.

A Packet reader, who has asked to remain anonymous, was stuck in his car outside Bosvathick Farm, near Constantine, after the bus driver refused to reverse 100 yards in order to let the oncoming traffic pass.

He said he was forced to turn back and find another route through Treverva village because the stand-off was "causing chaos", with queues of 20-plus cars each way.

A video clip of a conversation between the bus driver and an AA employee shows the driver refusing to reverse because he didn't have a "banksman", an assistant responsible for direction operations on large vehicles.

A Packet reporter visited the scene just after 4pm, by which time the traffic had cleared and a police van was just leaving the scene.