An American diner is battling to stay afloat after the collapse of a major road nearby led to a huge drop in business.

Laura Chantler has owned Hot Rod Diner, in Northfleet High Street since it opened 10 years ago.

But she says she has had to lay off staff and “dramatically” cut hours after the closure of a large section of Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe saw a huge decrease in passing trade.

“Because of the road closure, we are basically a dead-end now,” she told KentOnline. “Unless people are specifically coming to us they don’t come past.”

Part of the A226 has been shut for eight months following a landslide which saw a section of the cliff collapse.

It has meant traffic heading from Greenhithe to Gravesend has been diverted onto the A2, resulting in a five-mile drive to the restaurant from Bluewater, instead of two.

The 35-year-old added: “We would get a lot of business from people coming to us on their way home from Bluewater because it was too busy to eat there.

“Now they have to go 15 minutes out of their way to come to us so the diversion means we are no longer on their way home.”

While Laura admits it is not much of a detour, she said it is enough to put off customers.

“It’s an inconvenience,” she added. “Our regulars don’t tend to come anymore. It’s too far out of their way now.”

Laura, who runs the restaurant with her husband Jamie Howard, 39, said they are losing up to £10,000 a month and have seen sales drop by up to 40 per cent.

The couple employee 15 members of staff but in the last few weeks they have been forced to lay off two people just to break even and have cut hours “dramatically”.

To save money on wages, Laura and Jamie are also working seven days a week.

“We held off for as long as possible,” she said. “All our employees have been here seven or eight years and they all have families.

“I am responsible for their families. It is up to me to make sure their children’s parents have a job.”

Laura said the situation since the road collapsed has been worse than Covid and she and Jamie have tried everything they can to bring in business.

“It’s been really stressful,” she said. “We are trying to think of everything. We have had promotion upon promotion.

“We are just updating our website, as I know a lot of people like to book online so maybe that could be a barrier.

“We are just trying the best we can just to get people through the door.”

And Laura sees the situation only getting worse.

“Our figures for October were down £14k on last year,” she said.

“The winter months are definitely busier for us than the summer, so we could see most of our losses over the next few months.”

The road between Ebbsfleet Football Club and Swanscombe High Street crumbled on Easter Monday and has been shut ever since.

At a residents meeting last month, a representative from Kent County Council (KCC) told a packed Swanscombe Heritage Hall there was still no date as to when the road would be fixed and reopened.

KCC Highways representative Toby Howe confirmed the reason for the delay.

“The chalk spine is owned by others and until the owner can carry out repairs we cannot do anything with the road,” he said.

Mr Howe explained that three surveys had been carried out to determine the condition of the cliff and the cause of the collapse. He confirmed one survey revealed a “water wash out”.

He added: “Did the cliff collapse break the water main or did the breaking water main cause the cliff to collapse?”

KCC admitted it had not got as far as considering alternative options if the cliff road could not be fixed.

A spokesman for KCC was asked for an update on the situation but declined to comment.

A page on KCC’s website dedicated to the Galley Hill Road closure says: “Non-intrusive surveys have been carried out to assess the stability of the cliff below the road surface.

“From the information gathered, further investigation works of the road are now being planned.

“However, before any works can be carried out, the cliff must be made safe.

“We are liaising with the owners of the cliff to find a suitable solution to make the cliff stable.

“In the meantime, the road will remain closed and the diversion route will continue to be monitored and maintained.”