A SOMERSET road has been closed after it was blocked by a mudslide and flooding. 

The A358 near Combe Florey, just outside Bishops Lydeard and near Taunton, is shut with a diversion route in place.

Somerset County Council has a highways team at the scene but expects the road to remain closed overnight.

Police informed drivers of the closure at around 7.30pm.

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said: “Drivers are being advised to avoid the A358 near Combe Florey, Taunton, this evening (Monday, September 5).

“The road has been closed and a diversion put in place following a mudslide and flooding which has blocked the road.

“Please take extra care on your journey.”

The mudslide followed a period of heavy rain and thunderstorms earlier this evening from around 6pm. 

A spokesperson for Travel Somerset, the county council's roads information service, said: “We have a gang on site but expect the road to remain closed overnight until we can clear up in daylight tomorrow (September 6).”

This follows a similar incident on August 15, when police officers were called to the A358 at Combe Florey to attend a mudslide underneath a West Somerset Railway bridge. 

The road re-opened the following day after Somerset County Council's highways team cleared more than 50 tonnes of mud and potatoes. 

Days later, the B3188 between Woodford and Monksilver in West Somerset was closed for several hours after it was left “impassable” by a landslip.

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