A key road in Huntingdon will be closed while Network Rail contractors tackle a colony of pigeons which roost under a bridge on the mainline railway.

Stukeley Road will be shut at the junction with St Peters Road and under the Iron Bridge, which carries the East Coast Main Line railway, in September.

A Network Rail spokesman said the pigeons would not be harmed during the operation to prevent damage to the bridge which has recently undergone a major repair scheme.

There are concerns that the pigeons - and their droppings - could damage the bridge where they roost on girders underneath the structure.

The spokesman said precautions to prevent the birds using the bridge had been taken after the refurbishment scheme but had not proved to be successful.

Earlier this week pigeons could be seen sitting amid the spikes installed to prevent birds using the bridge as a nesting place.

Cambridgeshire County Council has made an order preventing vehicles using Stukeley Road while the work is carried out.

It says: "The order is made to facilitate pigeon nesting deterrent and associated works which are being carried out on or near this highway and it will come into operation on September 11 and continue until these works have finished, or on March 10, 2021, whichever is the earlier."

The work is expected to take place between 9pm and 5.30am from September 11-14 and is likely to include the fitting of nets to prevent the birds gaining access to the underside of the bridge.

The council said people would be able to get to properties in the area and that a diversion along St Peters Road, the A141, B1044 and vice versa, would be set up.

It said the order would not apply to people carrying out the work, the emergency services and special forces during the execution of their duties, as well as people acting under the direction of a police officer in uniform.