THE OWNER of a hardware store which has been running for over 90 years said that roadworks were ‘killing’ his business.

Roger Mason from Castles Home Hardware, which has been in Bargates since 1922, said that they have lost a third of their trade since work started ‘on and off’ along the road leading into Christchurch back in September.

He said that radio stations have been advising motorists to avoid the area, due to major traffic delays, which meant that customers were heading elsewhere to make their purchases.

Roger also claims that they have not been told anything about works, including that they were due to finish yesterday.

He added: “It has been ridiculous. The worst thing is that nobody has told the residents, traders, or the customers what is happening, which shows a lack of respect to us.

“We have lost a third of our trade, which puts us into a debt situation. There’s no two ways about it. People won’t come back, they will go elsewhere.

“It’s an impossible situation and it makes you very angry.”

Meanwhile Donna Taylor from Cake-Links Ltd, which is also based in Bargates, said: “With Christmas just a week away, this is a disaster for the businesses in Bargates, most of whom are small independent family businesses, that no one appeared to be listening to.

“This also has a knock on effect for trade in Christchurch as the roadworks were causing long tail backs and delays, putting customers off visiting Christchurch.”

Staff from SSE carried out repair work to a deep-laid cable, which disturbed a sewerage pipe.

Wessex Water staff were called to repair the pipe, but had to leave the site following a gas leak. Wessex Water could then finish their repair work.

Kevin Cheleda, traffic team manager for Dorset County Council, said: “This is an extremely unfortunate situation for businesses, especially given how long this was going on for and the timings of the works being in the run up to Christmas.

“We work with the utility companies to try and minimise disruption, but we have to accommodate emergency repairs to the utility apparatus that we all rely on.”