Hatter Street was closed by Suffolk County Council for nine days, while Anglian Water repaired a collapsed sewer, which had flooded the toilets of a nearby bar.

Ian Goldsmith, owner of jewellers Ian Goldsmith Ltd, said: "It was crazy, they closed the entire street.

"It made quite a difference to our trade as people just weren't walking past."

Although the road was closed for nine days, traders claim they were only given notice of the work on the day it started by contractors Claret, working on behalf of Anglian Water.

Mr Goldsmith added: "It was a terrible two weeks.

"My takings weren't even half what they should have been and we were annoyed about the short notice."

Mr Goldsmith said traders would have liked signs placed at the top of Hatter Street, informing shoppers businesses were open as usual.

Jade Goldsmith, of Hatters sandwich bar, said: "The closure really affected our business, so I wasn't happy.

"I was really cross about it because they didn't seem to be doing anything quickly."

No-one from Claret was available to comment.

A spokesman for the county council said it was the contractors' responsibility to deliver the emergency closure notices, but the work was initially expected to last only 48 hours.

He said: "There is no way people can say we weren't helpful, we did everything we possibly could.

"We had to make a decision on health and safety grounds on behalf of the public."

The spokesman said nothing was mentioned to the contractors about a sign at the top of the road, but they would have been happy to put one up.

A spokesman for Anglian Water said there were two collapsed pipes, one in the main sewer and the other on the private tributary pipe from the bar.

He said: "There were various lumps and bumps of fat found in the sewer but that was a result of the collapse, not the cause."

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