A BUSINESSMAN claims around 40 per cent of trade was lost as a result of emergency roadworks by BT.

The Echo reported last week that businesses of the Purdeys Industrial Estate in Rochford had been hit by a severe shortage of customers after BT began works to repair a manhole box and electricity cables on the roundabout on Sutton Road.

The roundabout acts as the only road entrance to the estate, which houses multiple businesses.

The roadworks have now completed. Carl Cantor, manager of The Factory Shop at Purdeys, has urged customers to make use of the estate.

He said: “It was an absolute nightmare last week, we a solid four to five days where the works took place and there were queues for ages around the estate.

“A member of my staff lives in Hockley, and it took him 90 minutes to get from his home to the business.

“Overall, I think on those days we were operating around 30 to 40 per cent lower than expected for December.

“But it’s obviously not just shops affected, we have a gym here, warehouse based businesses and other traders, all of whom reported severe delays.

“When it’s an accident, usually it is cleared up within the day, and you take the hit, but this saw multiple days of gridlock.”

Montine Foods, also on the estate, reported that the business had two days of single figure customer footfall.

Now with the roadworks gone, the businesses are encouraging people to make use of them.

Mr Cantor added: “Now they’ve been taken down, the traffic is flowing, the people are coming in and the estate is a much happier place.

“Hopefully people can now come here and make the most of their businesses before we wind down for Christmas.” A BT spokesman said: “We apologise to any local businesses that have been affected by this essential safety work.”