A postmaster claims restoration work on a culvert has driven him to the verge of bankruptcy.

Anthony Towler, who runs Harden Post Office, in Lane End, in the village near Bingley, said trade had fallen by 50 per cent since work started on the culvert next to a roundabout in May.

Contractors hired by Bradford Council have had to stop work for four weeks when a large sewer was discovered running through the culvert which needs to be temporarily diverted by Yorkshire Water.

Mr Towler said businesses in the village initially took a hit when the historic Ireland Bridge on the road from Harden into Bingley was closed for months as repairs were carried out in the first half of the year.

He said: “It’s nearly made me bankrupt. I’m not taking enough to cover my overheads.

“The bridge is open again in general, so I’ve got all the passing trade going past but they can’t pull in anywhere.”

Other business owners have also reported a drop in trade. Butcher Garry Snowden, of G Snowden and Sons in Harden, previously told the Telegraph & Argus his takings were 40 per cent down since the work started. “It’s just poor planning,” he said.

John Anderson, principal engineer at Bradford Council’s highways structures unit, said: “We have every sympathy for anyone adversely affected by the vital work being carried out at Harden roundabout. However, there has been a delay with this scheme, as we have been unable to replace the culvert straightaway because there is a large sewer in the way. Work cannot progress until the sewer is diverted. We are in delicate negotiations with Yorkshire Water over the best way forward to resolve this.”

A Yorkshire Water spokesman said: “We are carrying out work as quickly as possible on behalf of Bradford Council to move a section of sewer.

“We expect work to begin by the end of this week which will involve us temporarily lifting a section of the sewer out of the culvert, laying an overland sewage pipe to ensure normal services are maintained, then once the Council has finished the culvert work, we will drop the section of sewer back in.”