A sewer has collapsed in Stafford town centre, sparking repairs which will take a fortnight to complete and hitting traders in the pocket.

Angry shopkeepers are demanding compensation after a 150-yard stretch of Gaol Road has been closed to deal with the problem, wiping out their pre-Christmas trade.

Severn Trent Water, which is responsible for the repairs, said if left, the sewer would cause an even bigger problem, affecting a wider area. The company said it had no choice but to carry out the work immediately.

Some shopkeepers claim they will lose several thousand pounds a week at what is traditionally their busiest time of year.

Stuart Winfer, of Carpet Time, said he had not had a customer all week. “There are about eight businesses along the affected section and this has completely disrupted our trade,” he said.

“People just can’t get through – it’s like a war zone down here.”

He said it was the second time recently that the road, near Stafford Prison, had been dug up after a six-week programme of repairs earlier this year to replace gas mains. Severn Trent spokeswoman Amy Weiser said today: “The collapsed sewer, if left unrepaired, would have an impact on the service we can provide to our customers and could potentially damage the foundations of the road, so the work must be done immediately.

“There are a lot of other utilities – phone lines, gas mains, and so on –   very near to the sewer so we do have to work carefully to avoid causing a bigger problem, but repairs are on schedule, and our workers are doing all they can to accommodate local businesses.

“Although the road is closed to through traffic, access to the businesses is being maintained and we’ve put extra signage up.”