SHOPKEEPERS fear trade will be hit hard when a £1m roadworks scheme hits Worcester.

The London Road area of the city looks set for months of traffic chaos as the junction with Wyld's Lane, near Tesco Express, shuts.

It means traffic which would normally go down Wyld's Lane will have to be diverted.

This has shocked shop owners who were completely unaware of the improvements.

Although the work will not go as far down as his shop Mohammed Manir, owner of Spice Bazaar, on Wyld's Lane, said: "If cars cannot get to us it will close our business. We've just opened after months of renovations and only just got our customers back."

Customers will be able to reach the store via the one- way Sidbury junction but he fears people who drive to the store from the other entrance will find somewhere else easier to get to.

Ramesh Patel, of Wyld's Lane News said: "I understand if it has to be done but we should have been told sooner. This is immediate."

Anna Lewis, aged 40, of Fort Royal Hill, which could also close for work, said: "As a resident, the less traffic the better but they don't seem to have thought about the shopkeepers."

The closure is part of a £1m scheme replacing old water and gas pipes and building an underground sewer to prevent the area flooding.

Severn Trent is working alongside National Grid Gas to minimise disruption.

However, it is warning drivers that replacing all the water pipes could take as long as a year.

On Monday, February 6, temporary lights on London Road will make traffic travelling from Tesco Express to Victoria Avenue one way.

When the gas company finishes replacing an old pipe running between Compton Road and Perry Wood Walk, Severn Trent will move work into Wyld's Lane.

Sections of the busy residential and business thoroughfare will close and, in total, the work could take up to a year.

Specific locations and lengths of the sections that close to motorists will be revealed by Severn Trent as the work gets under way.

On Monday, February 20, Severn Trent is due to build a manhole at the junction of Wyld's Lane and London Road for the underground sewer.

They will then begin replacing old and brittle cast iron pipes with durable, plastic ones section by section. In August, during the school summer holidays, pipes in London Road itself are due to be replaced.

Severn Trent project manager Richard Jemmett said: "We do apologise for the inconvenience but aim to keep disruption to a minimum."

For information on alternative routes during the closures, call the highways department on 01905 766288.