A crane blocking a narrow Kalkara road is still “frustrating” residents, however the operator said they will only have to put up with it a few more times.

The inhabitants of the 11 or so houses in St Michael Street earlier this month said they were being held prisoners in their own homes by a large crane and truck.

The residents were informed of the “extensive works” on a house on the same street last month. The local council’s executive secretary, Elaine Caruana, told this newspaper that the permit for the construction machinery had been issued following a unanimous vote by the councillors.

READ: If you live on this Kalkara street, there's no leaving

Ms Caruana also noted that the council would be suggesting the use of smaller cranes where possible and that it would ensure there were two wardens on site to stop the work so that pedestrians could pass.

However, the crane operator yesterday told this newspaper that using smaller machinery would mean the work would take longer, while a larger crane for this sort of work was safer.

He also noted that there were two police officers on site instead of wardens. Ms Caruana had told the Times of Malta that at the moment there seemed to be a shortage of wardens.

The operator said that the heavy machinery was used five times over the past two weeks and that he would need to park the crane in the same road another four times. The work would go on, however, at least till the Christmas period, and he would also need to bring over other machinery, such as a concrete pump.