Drivers are facing more chaos in and around Fulham Palace Road after a sewage pipe collapsed during work by Thames Water – the third time it has happened since March.

Engineers were in the final stages of a project to repair the ancient pipe in St Dunstan's Road when it fell apart again.

It means they have had to close the road, which had only recently re-opened to traffic after the previous collapses.

A spokeswoman for Thames Water said: "Our engineers were completing the final stages of a very tricky project to reline the main sewer under St Dunstan's Road when on Saturday the pipe collapsed again. This is an incredibly old, fragile pipe and we are as frustrated as everyone else that this has happened, especially when we were so near to completing the project.

"We are going to fix this collapse as soon as we can get permission from the council to put signs out on the road. Our aim is to fix this collapse and then complete the relining to prevent any future collapses."

Company engineers say the work is taking so long because tree roots have blocked the pipe, which are made of clay and nearly 100 years old. It urgently needs repairing as it has a history of leaking, including flooding Charing Cross Hospital.

Jim Reilly, Thames Water's contract supervisor, said: "You can see from the images the working conditions we’ve had to deal with. This is an old clay pipe nearly five metres deep and a combination of tree roots and fat-bergs (from fat being improperly poured down the sink) meant we faced unexpected problems.

“We have been working flat-out to get this job done as quickly as we can and all we ask is that motorists and local residents appreciate that we are doing this work to prevent the misery of sewer flooding.”

New technology is now being used to re-line the pipe with fibreglass to strengthen it and to stop the tree roots growing.