RESIDENTIAL streets in Larkhill and Amesbury could be choked twice a month with lorries and holiday traffic, if plans go ahead for twin tunnels at Stonehenge.

Each of the 2.1km-long bored tunnels, intended to conceal traffic on the A303 from the view of Stonehenge visitors, will have to be closed one night a month for cleaning and maintenance, it was revealed this week - forcing traffic through Larkhill and Countess Road, in Amesbury.

The idea is to close each tunnel from 11pm until 5am once every four weeks and to do the maintenance work on consecutive nights. While each tunnel is cleaned, traffic will use Countess Road and The Packway, through Larkhill.

The news has been met with horror and disbelief by residents and district councillors.

Dennis Brown, transport and environment portfolio holder for Salisbury district council, said his first reaction was: "This is ludicrous."

He said the news only came out when the district council got "a package of goodies" from the government containing details of the £183m Stonehenge project.

"No one has mentioned before anything about the tunnel being closed for cleaning," Mr Brown said. "Surely a contraflow system could be operated, using one tunnel while the other is cleaned? They have longer and bigger tunnels on the continent and they are not closed for cleaning."

The Countess Road Residents' Association said it was horrified by the news.

It warned that forcing even more traffic on to Countess Road would increase road dangers and bring about long delays.

Ann Rudkin said already they feared that lorries too big to pass through the tunnel would use Countess Road and The Packway, and now it seemed that diverted holiday traffic would also have to, twice a month.

She said: "This news came out of the blue and it is very disturbing.

"We shall be raising objections to this and hope that many other people will, as well.

"We already get night-time military traffic using Countess Road to reach the A303 and residents cannot face the thought of having night-time traffic diverted from the A303 as well."

Town councillor and Countess Road resident Roger Fisher said that everyone was opposed to the idea.

He said it added to the fears of local people already worried about increased noise levels from the elevated road planned for Countess roundabout and the loss of the underpass.

The tunnel closures were discussed by members of the district council's northern area committee on Thursday and will be discussed by the council's cabinet in September.

Support for a contraflow system while cleaning is under way is supported by the district council's northern area committee, which met last week.

The committee also wants alternative routes for heavy lorries avoiding Countess Road and The Packway, neither of which, they feel, is suitable to carry diverted A303 traffic.

Wiltshire county council has warned that extra funding would be needed to resurface and strengthen the two local roads if they were to be used by traffic unable to travel through the tunnels.