Shopkeepers are furious about road works which they claim are crippling their businesses.

Traders in Bradford Road, Stockbridge, say they have lost customers because of the Yorkshire Water project.

And greengrocer Dave Luke claims special Father's Day presents on display outside his shop, Grapevine, were ruined when a burst main flooded the road.

He said: "There was a pool in front of the shop. When the traffic set off from the lights, the water was washed onto the frontage, flooding the flowers with mucky water.

Mr Luke, 43, said the road works were due to finish in March, but the work is still going on.

He claimed it was causing tailbacks and people were not prepared to wait in the traffic to reach his shop - including a Keighley publican who cancelled his order after getting stuck in queues.

"I don't want any compensation - I want the work to finish," he said. "This is a new business and I am trying to make progress. This does not help at all."

His neighbour, Rosalie Whitaker who runs Whitaker's newsagent, said she would have been forced to close without the support of loyal customers.

She said: "I rely on passing trade. People want to get in and out of the shop quickly but they can't because of the traffic.

"Yorkshire Water will compensate for loss of profits but there is no compensation for losing customers. They will not come back."

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said: "We regret that the burst main caused any damage and a customer adviser was seeing Mr Luke this week.

"The reason the repairs have taken so long is because there were so many other utility supplies under the road so we had to work extra slowly.

"The project should be finished in four weeks time."

e-mail: clive.white@

bradford.newsquest.co.uk