THREE workers at Worcestershire County Council have been suspended over the Ketch island fiasco, it has emerged.

Your Worcester News can exclusively reveal how a trio of staff members have been placed on 'gardening leave' while an investigation takes place into how much safety work was done before the infamous new-look roundabout went live.

The staff involved, all of whom are suspended on full pay while the probe gathers pace, are all below senior director level at County Hall but take on key work around highways.

The suspensions follow an unprecedented apology by council chiefs following the coning off of two lanes under emergency measures after a Facebook video highlighting safety concerns was viewed 83,000 times.

In June permanent changes were then made to the £8 million island following a hurried safety assessment including the hatching off of the controversial merger lane at the exit for Carrington Bridge.

This newspaper has since handed the council a Freedom of Information Act request (FOI) asking to see the entire contents of the safety audit and the cost of rectifying the island.

Bosses have refused to hand the audit over, saying in their response a "legal exemption" applies because it could affect "the ability of a person to receive a fair trial, or the ability of a public authority to conduct an inquiry of a criminal or disciplinary nature."

On the costs, the response revealed how "ongoing commercial discussions" are taking place over the bill, and until then the full extent of the dent to the public purse is unknown.

Councillor Tom Wells uploaded the video to his Facebook page which sparked the furore.

When told about the suspensions by your Worcester News, he said: "I'm delighted an investigation is now underway to examine how such a seriously flawed design plan was ever designed and constructed in the first place.

"Amongst other things, it is vital that the review should focus on how it was that an essential stage three safety audit did not take place before the island was reopened to traffic.

"It does, however, concern me that relatively junior officers may become scapegoats for what ultimately was the responsibility of senior management."

The county council was not prepared to comment on the suspensions yesterday, saying the investigation is ongoing.

The authority also says the probe, which revolves around how much safety assessment work was done before the island was back fully in use, is being done independently.

The suspended workers could remain off site until well into the autumn.

A spokesman said: "A full and comprehensive independent investigation is ongoing which will look at all aspects of the project.

"We anticipate findings will be available in the early autumn but are unable to make any further comment until then."