One of Gloucestershire's main roads will be shut to traffic for significant periods next week.

The A46, the main route between Gloucester and Stroud, will be closed from 7pm to 7am between Tuesday, April 23 and Friday, May 3.

The stretch between Brockworth and Painswick will be the stretch of road affected, although residents and businesses will have access to their properties when it is safe to do so.

The work will see patching carried out to replace a worn road surface in preparation for surface dressing later in the year.

Patching is a more intensive repair used for fixing larger clusters of potholes and sections of damaged carriageway.

Crews will cut around the uneven section and replace it with a large piece of flat tarmac. Later in the year a specialist surface dressing kit will seal the surface to extend its lifespan.

This process can only be used in warmer, drier weather periods, hence the timing of the work.

Kath Haworth, lead commissioner for highways at Gloucestershire County Council, said, "We are working overnight to try to minimise disruption on this busy road.

"It is essential we carry out repairs to the network and the road needs to be closed for the safety of crews as well as members of the public.

"I want to thank everyone for their patience."

A diversion will be in place with vehicles from the south taking the A4173 towards Gloucester and then on the A38 and A417 to link back to Brockworth, with the reverse route in action for vehicles travelling south.