BUSINESSES in a Newport community say gridlock caused by roadworks cost them thousands of pounds in lost earnings.

Huge rush hour tailbacks hit Forge Lane and Caerphilly Road when temporary traffic lights were set up on July 21 for several weeks.

Bassaleg businesses breathed a collective sigh of relief when the work on the main drains finished last week, but say the Welsh Water works hit them hard and could have been finished quicker.

Mahmood Sharif, owner of the Bassaleg Store and Off Licence, estimates he lost about £13,000.

He said: "Things were dead for several weeks and it would take me an hour just to get down the road to the cash and carry.

"I've lost £400 a day. It was a ridiculous situation. "The nearby chip shop was badly hit. Who wants chips if they are going to get home an hour later?

"Now I'm just trying to recover the losses." The roadworks lasted almost five weeks and were part of a 12-week scheme to upgrade the sewerage network to increase storm water capacity.

Welsh Water said the scheme would reduce the risk of sewage flooding properties.

Murad Ali, owner of Bassaleg Pharmacy, said: "The traffic problems started six weeks after we opened. As a new business I was quite scared to be losing £50 a day.

"It put people off coming here. The traffic jams were very bad. One woman got off the bus near the shop, walked over and bought a paper, then got back on the bus. It hadn't moved at all.

"I would love to see some compensation for this. Local businesses should have got together and made some noise.

"The works could have been completed earlier."

Village postmistress Patricia Blake said: "I lost a lot of business, especially because it was the end of the month when car taxes are renewed. The drop will show up in my pay in a couple of months.

"I have worked here 16 years and there have been many roadworks. But it's never been so devastating."

A spokesman for Welsh Water said the company offered a compensation scheme and applicants should contact 0800 052 0130.