An engineering firm is being taken to the High Court in a damages claim worth over £6 million.

Welsh Assembly Government ministers are taking Morgan Est to court claiming £6.6m damages, for repairs needed between Dinmael, Conwy and Ty Nant, Denbighshire.

The dispute centres around the failure of rock anchorages, as part of a scheme to improve the A5 London to Holyhead trunk road on a stretch of road in north Wales.

Improvement work was completed in 1996, however, a 1km section had closed in May 2006 for repairs to a rock face after an inspection found problems.

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A routine inspection in 2003 found two rock anchorages had corroded while the heads and faceplates of others had deteriorated.

Miller Civil Engineering, based in Rugby, Warwickshire, undertook the original improvement work and the legal action is being taken against Morgan Est, its successor company.

Welsh ministers are suing Morgan Est for the cost of the remedial works, staff time, professional fees of engineers and metallurgists, resulting in a total of over £6.6m, plus VAT and interest.

The Assembly claim the work carried out by Miller Civil Engineering had not been carried out in a good or workmanlike manner.

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesman said: "We can confirm that legal proceedings have been served on Morgan Est PLC and that the matter is now being dealt with by the High Court."

(JM/BMcC)