SEVERN Trent Water insist the Whitecroft road will open this week despite spending the last week digging it back up due to a water leak.

Workmen were seen last Wednesday digging the road up after they identified a leak where they were trying to connect new pipes to the old ones.

Manager of Forest of Dean Tyres, Wayne Davies is among the many businesses in the village to suffer loss of business due to the ongoing road closure. He said: "It has gone on for long enough now, to the point where I no longer believe what Severn Trent says. As far as I'm aware the workmen are digging the road up with this pipe still leaking, and I reckon it's going to take a lot longer than Severn Trent says until the road is open.

"When the road was first shut in January I lost £4,000 of business in a day. It hasn't got any better with the commercial side taking a severe knock. The sooner the road is open the better."

Severn Trent said the leak was quickly stopped and they planned to finish work on the investment scheme at the end of last week, leaving only the road surfacing and work to restore verges and private grounds left to do.

A spokesperson for Severn Trent said: "The end is in sight. We're expecting the road to be restored and open from the end of next week and the remaining work (not affecting the road) to go on for about two weeks after this.

"While we've been doing this work, we've taken the opportunity to work with other Severn Trent Water departments to repair several manhole lids on Parkend Road while it is closed. This should avoid any further disruption in the future."