A St Peter’s publican fears that essential roadworks could spell last orders for his village business.

Paul Devon-Row, manager and licensee of the Red Lion pub on the High Street, claims that trade has dropped sharply since workmen moved in last month.

Last week, advance bookings for Sunday dinners, which can total more than 30, had fallen to zero. A special offer on Mondays, when the pub serves two courses for £3.95, had no takers either.

Mr Devon-Row said: “Business is virtually non-existent but we can’t do anything about it.

“On average, 10,000 cars pass through St Peter’s every day - a colossal amount for such a tiny village.

“We rely heavily on passing trade but our customers would have to fly in now because they certainly couldn’t drive.”

The village butcher, newsagent, greengrocer and pet shop had all seen a similarly “devastating” drop in trade, Mr Devon-Row said.

The company responsible for the disruption, Scotia Gas Networks, hopes to complete its work in St Peter’s by mid-April.

A spokesperson for the firm, which is replacing around 150 metres of ageing cast iron gas mains at a cost of £50,000, said: “We’re doing everything possible to minimise disruption to local people.

“We sent out letters to affected residents and traders and we have a team of support staff on site to co-ordinate the work and deal with any issues that arise.”

The roadworks in St Peter’s come as a record number of British pubs call time.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) claims that 2,000 have closed since the Chancellor announced an 18 percent increase in excise duty in last year’s Budget.

A recent poll by the BBPA also found that around three-quarters of people oppose above-inflation tax rises.

Mr Devon-Row added: “Pubs are already finding it hard to survive and these roadworks just hit us even harder. It’s unreal.”