Fed-up traders in a village street could not believe it when workmen arrived to dig up their street - it was the fifth time in 18 months.

The shopkeepers in Market Street, Thornton, breathed a sigh of relief a week ago when work by Bradford Council and Transco finally ended.

But now they are suffering disruption again as two holes have been dug in the road to deal with a gas emergency and disconnection.

Trevor Smith, who runs a television and video repair shop, said: "We're beginning to think it will never end. I've lost count of how much trade we have lost, and we haven't been compensated.

"Transco have all sorts of complicated assessments - they say you must have suffered disruption for 28 days. It's ridiculous because we've had it continuously for four months."

The saga began when Bradford Council began resurfacing and improvement works at Market Street on March 4. But it had to suspend the work to allow the pipeline company in to lay a new main in a four-to-six week contract.

The Council said it had not been informed until March 14 of the need to lay the new pipes. Transco said the Council had been aware it needed to do the work but had gone ahead with resurfacing.

The shopkeepers said there had also been roadworks twice before the Council started work in March.

A Transco spokesman said: "On Friday we were called to a gas escape. It was an emergency and we had to relay the service pipe to the property."

He said in a separate job the company was bound by law to disconnect the gas supply from a shop which had been empty for a year.

"We are aware that the road has been resurfaced and we are reinstating it," he said.

"We apologise if there has been any inconvenience.''