A MILNSBRIDGE street left looking like a runway is to be neatly finished off after all.

Kirklees Council had said the strange-looking way tarmac had been laid down the middle of Lipscomb Street in Milnsbridge was how it would remain.

Read yesterday's Examiner exclusive here.

But it turns out there had been a mixed message within the council and other contractors will be back to put chippings down across the entire road – but it may be many weeks yet.

A spokeswoman said: “Patching rather than complete resurfacing on residential streets has always been done in this manner and is not new.

“It is common practice across all local authorities as it makes the highways budgets go further.

“The delay between planing and patching work and then subsequent surface dressing is that they are done as different processes by different contractors who work for a range of councils in the area.

“The surface dressing may well be completed much later than the original work as and when the contractors are in the area.’’

She stressed that laying the tarmac in this way saved money.

“The 20% saved on repairing roads in this way goes towards repairing other roads which may have less priority than the ones done first,’’ she said.

“These are repaired if and when money becomes available.’’