Roadworks have been blamed for spoiling a parade of 400 Volkswagens through Wootton Bassett.

An estimated 700 VWs, or v-dubbers, took part in Dub Aid, a weekend festival which raised over £6,000 for Help for Heroes and other charities.

But the organisers say that, although the festival itself was a great success, the number of vehicles taking part in the grand finale down Wootton Bassett High Street on March 20 was halved because roadworks caused tailbacks on the A429.

Organiser Rob Veysey, of Redlands, Chippenham, said the festival had been planned months in advance so the roadworks could have been avoided.

“It has cheesed me off that they did the repairs to the road on the one day that the cars were coming through,” he said.

Mr Veysey was particularly annoyed to drive back up the A road at about 1.30pm to find the road clear and the works finished.

He added: “People said they got fed up waiting in traffic jams so they just left.

“The show itself was brilliant but I was annoyed that the council saw fit to start working on the road when 500 vehicles were due to come through.

“It spoilt the finale and, what can I say, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and as far as I am concerned. We did everything by the book and got the licence.

“We went to so much effort to stage this event and the council decided to dig up the road for what they called essential safety work.

“Why couldn’t they have waited until the afternoon?”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Council said: “We apologise for any inconvenience these road works caused, however everything possible was done to ensure delays were kept to a minimum.

“This included letting participants through the works as quickly as possible giving the VWs precedence over other traffic.”