A PUB landlady says the 18-month closure of part of a Monmouthshire waterway will cost her more than £10,000 in lost business.

Repair works on a 16-mile stretch of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal will not be completed until spring next year.

The canal burst its banks at Gilwern last October, when eight people had to be rescued and three homes evacuated.

British Waterways engineers moved in and drained the section between Llanover and Talybont, leaving traders like Judy Llewellyn-Feasey, licensee of the Bridgend Inn, Govilon, facing a bleak summer.

The quiet village pub, situated 50 metres from the canal, benefits each summer from the hundreds of tourists who flock to the canal every year.

"I'll be losing £500 to £600 a week in the summer, which is about a third of my trade," said Mrs Llewellyn-Feasey.

"When I heard it was going to be closed until spring 2009 I was devastated."

The landlady is calling British Waterways, which manages the canal, to compensate her for lost income due to the lengthy period of closure.

Boat-hire companies, such as Castle Narrowboats in Gilwern, are also set to lose out.

Monmouthshire county councillor Simon Howarth agreed that there should be compensation for local businesses, and warned that the detrimental effect on tourism along the canal could be irreversible.

"If people start going to use the canal in Birmingham instead, then we may not see them again," he said.

A spokeswoman for British Waterways refused to comment on the subject of compensation, saying only that the company was "maintaining regular dialogue with partners and stakeholders who are directly affected by the breach".

Wales and border counties manager for British Waterways, Julie Sharman, said the planned re-opening date was spring 2009, but even more works were scheduled beyond that.

However, these would take place within winter months to minimise the impact on canal-related businesses, she said.