A fuming boss says water workers turned the last day of his sale into a damp squib after digging up the road outside his premises to fix a leak.

The Comet: Impact InteriorsImpact Interiors (Image: Archant)

Workers from Anglian Water have turned up at Impact Interiors in Henlow High Street unannounced for the past two Saturdays and started digging up the road immediately outside.

Managing director Matthew Blythe of Henlow-based Impact Interiors has complained about a loss of trade, with the leak problem yet to be fully resolved.

He said: “We’re a small, family-run business, so when workmen turned up unannounced and dug up and resurfaced the road on our doorstep it was terrible.

“The work blocked the passageway into our shop – and it was the last day of our sale. We’ve definitely lost trade over this.

“The sad thing is they didn’t have the decency to explain to us beforehand, or send an explanation or an apology afterwards.

“I understand they have to fix leaks, but it happened on a Thursday, and it was Saturday morning before workmen turned up and created complete havoc.

“They also had angle grinders and the noise was indescribable in the shop. What was also concerning was the fact there was no traffic management in place which was a total nightmare. I genuinely feared for the safety of the workmen at one stage, and there were at least two near misses between cars.

“I asked the workmen why there were no temporary traffic lights – they said it was because of a lack of budget for them.”

Antony Innes from Anglian Water said: “We’re sorry for any disruption caused to customers in Henlow during work to find the source of a water leak at the weekend. We take any suggestion work was not carried out safely very seriously and will be investigating this fully.

“When a leak is reported our engineers will locate and assess it before work is carried out, as leaks may appear a distance from the source. Pipe repair work will be completed this week.”