SHOP owner Barbara Burford claims ongoing roadworks in the city centre are driving trade out of St Albans.

Barbara owns the Hopscotch children's wear store in Chequer Street. She says that work to improve safety along St Peter's Street has had a serious detrimental effect on trade. She claims many stores will be forced to move out if the problem continues.

She said: "These roadworks have frightened people away and the situation is getting desperate.

"They (council members) have to stop messing about with the town otherwise all the traders will just have to move out.

"It is up to the council to support us."

The 61-year-old from Watford set up her business selling children's clothes 18 months ago. She has ran a similar store in Chorleywood for 13 years and decided to branch out into St Albans.

She said: "I wanted a high street location and I was prepared to pay the high rents for the benefits it offered.

"People used to come from miles around and I thought the potential was great. But we are not seeing people from outside St Albans coming to the shops anymore.

"We need to get people back into St Albans but if these signs keep going up at the entrance to the city, warning of roadworks, then the situation will only get ten times worse."

Barbara says the problem of falling trade began back in October, last year, when work started on improving the traffic flow around the busy Peahen junction in St Albans city centre.

Since then the council has began work on the £5million scheme to improve congestion along St Peter's Street.

The road was closed off to motorists for several weeks over the summer and work is expected to last up until the end of October Barbara added: "I have spoke to other shop owners and they all agree that it is a nightmare.

"It's impossible for people to get into the city centre.

"Last week they began tearing up the road for gas works. Why does this have to go on at the same time as the roadworks?

"I can't even say what they are doing has made any improvement to the city centre.

"They should think carefully before starting anything else so that we don't end up with this ludicrous scenario again.

"The town centre will take time to recover and if someone asked me now about starting up a business in St Albans, I would tell them to think very carefully."

A St Albans District Council spokesman acknowledged the amount of recent roadworks had caused several disruptions, but said they were designed to aid shoppers and pedestrians.

She added: "The city centre manager says general feedback from people is that trade has held up fairly well during the work.

"The number of vacant shops has not increased and more are opening up.

"The current work in St Peter's Street is expected to end on October 31 and we will have a clear run up towards Christmas before work starts back up again in the new year."