THE closure of Watchet’s Brendon Road until November 13 for gas pipes replacement has left the town ‘desolate and could be the final nail in its coffin’, a business leader warned this week.

Watchet Chamber of Trade (WACET) chairman John Richards said: “No proper signage or traffic management has meant that Watchet is absolutely dead because people have no idea how to reach the town.”

Mr Richards was commenting on the hundreds of angry complaints on social media over the six-week road closure, part of a £1.2 million gas network upgrade.

He said it had led to traffic chaos with both sides of the town being blocked off, leaving a minor road to Williton as the main access.

Mr Richards said: “The closure of Brendon Road, from Five Bells to the town railway bridge, has resulted in at least 50 per cent down on trade.

“I have stood in the main street for 20 minutes and not seen a single vehicle.

“At the moment, the traffic control and diversion systems are chaotic and the signage is completely inadequate.

“We have been promised signs showing that the town centre is open but nothing has happened.

“We have been on and on at everybody, including highways, but with no positive result.”

Tracey Clarke, who runs Albert’s Ardware, in Swain Street, believed that ‘simple little changes’ such as better signage or a through-road would improve the situation.

Ms Clarke said: “We have had six to nine months of road works already.

“It has been a tough year.”

Helen Griffith, of the Little Lighthouse children’s clothing shop, said: “Even for locals it is now difficult to access Watchet.”

Roxanne Whittaker, from Wales and West Utilities, which is leading the gas upgrade for Watchet and Williton, said the company was working with Somerset Council and other key partners to keep disruption to a minimum.