THE owner of a road-side takeaway has seen his takings slump after mountains of gravel were dumped, blocking the entrance to the lay-by where his van is parked.

Malcolm Ward, who owns Brookside Caterers on the A38 in Martin Hussingtree, said the heaps could put him out of business.

"I've been here for the last 10 years and I'm registered with Wychavon District Council," said Mr Ward, who owns the mobile caravan.

"Every summer there's a bit of gravel put in the lay-by, and it always affects my business.

"But there's nowhere to park this year because all of the bays have been covered in gravel, so no one can stop to buy anything."

Mr Ward, who mans the truckers' pit-stop with his wife Julie, revealed that last Wednesday for instance, his takings had plummeted by almost half.

"I had to close at 2pm because there was no point in staying open," said the 40-year-old.

"No one could get in anyway because all the gravel is in the way and is actually dumped on all of the car parking spaces.

"One of my regulars came in but he said he couldn't stop because he hadn't parked properly and was causing an obstruction because all of the gravel was in the way.

"Later on I saw a huge lorry that had to reverse out on to the main A38 because the lay-by was blocked.

"My takings went from usually about £70 to £45 I can't afford to carry on and will be on the dole at this rate."

Geoff Cox, from the Worcestershire Highways Partnership in Wychavon, revealed that the gravel was being stored in the lay-by to use in re-surfacing work throughout the town.

"It is a highways lay-by which is being used for a short time to dump chippings during a period of surface dressing," he said.

"We've asked the contractors to keep it as tidy as possible and they will probably be there for about a week."

A spokeswoman for Wychavon District Council said the authority was unable to say who was responsible for the dumping of the gravel due to the work being sub let by a number of contractors.