Learner drivers in Powys have been left in a "dire" situation with test slots unavailable for months and the only examiner in the county having to travel from Derbyshire to conduct tests.

Driving instructors have raised their concerns about the "bizarre" situation they claim has been the worst in almost 20 years – amid fears the problem could see Newtown's centre following Llandrindod Wells in closing.

"The biggest feeling I’ve got about it is I don’t think it’s fair because we live in rural mid Wales and they’re at a disadvantage," said Tracey Evans, an instructor with Abermule-based BSM.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency said it is doing "all we can" to bring the average waiting time down to less than 10 weeks by the end of the year.

But Paddy O'Kennedy, who teaches people to drive in the Llan'dod area, and now travels to Ludlow, Hereford, Brecon and Newtown for tests, said: "I’m really worried that Newtown might go the same way as Llandrindod and then we’re all in trouble.

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"It says it all that the only examiner they can get in Newtown is someone who has to come all the way from Derbyshire.

"I’ve got a lady in Llandrindod who is hoping to have a test in Newtown, and she’s spent £300 on lessons with me and I’ve worked out that the £230 of that was just getting from Llandrindod to Newtown for 20 minutes then we’ve got to go back to Llandrindod. It’s dire, it really is.

"I had another lad book the other day and the nearest one he could get is Yorkshire. He’s got to book it because he’s hoping for a cancellation. That’s the way to do it."

With the cost of living crisis pushing fuel prices to record highs, driving instructors like Lauren Owen, a teacher for 13 years with Roadmaster Driving Academy in Newtown, fear learning will become unaffordable.

"I feel like it’s turning into something that only rich people can afford to do and that’s so sad," she said.

"Driving is what everybody needs especially where we live. It’s not like in the city where you can hop on a bus when we have one every two hours, if that.

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"I’ve been doing this for 13 years and when I first started you could book a test within a week or two of being ready for a test. Now we’re not even sure. It’s most bizarre."

Tracey added: "These 17-year-olds who are desperate to drive are having to work for £5-an-hour and they’re having to go four hours to do their test. It’s extortionately expensive for them."

John Tomley has been teaching people to drive in the Newtown area for 15 years, and said: "It’s difficult to teach them not knowing where their test might be and how far ahead."

Keith Blanchard, of Abermule School of Motoring, added: "There used to be two examiners. How can we get to none when the demand is increased?"

The instructors praised the Derbyshire-based examiner as "fantastic".

In a statement, a DVSA spokesperson said: “We are doing all we can to provide learners with as many tests as possible and bring average waiting times down to less than 10 weeks by the end of the year.

“To tackle the high demand for tests we have introduced a number of measures including, recruiting an additional 300 examiners, conducting out of hours testing such as at weekends and on public holidays and asking all those qualified to conduct tests.”