The owners of a family-run chippy say long-running roadworks have left them thousands of pounds out of pocket.

SGN has been trying to fix a gas leak on the A2 at Key Street since November 26.

Initially there was a traffic-light controlled lane closure on the road outside the Long Hop pub, but since Thursday that has turned into a full road closure.

Andria and Andy Matheou, who run Marino Fish Bar, nearby, say their trade has plummeted, particularly since the gas firm placed a ‘road closed’ sign on the route to their business.

Andria, 35, explained: “The roadworks began three weeks ago with a single lane closure and were meant to finish on December 6, but now it has been extended until December 16.

“When the works first began we saw a drop in profit but now the road is closed between the Key Street roundabout and London Road, nowhere near us, we’ve lost even more money. It is because of the incorrect and confusing signage which was placed further up the road on December 7 when the road was fully closed. Our business has seen its trade go right down.”

SGN says it is carrying out urgent network repairs at the junction of A2 Key Street and Wises Lane.

On December 7, when the closure was put in place, its website was updated to say that although repairs to one of the pipes were completed on December 6 further work had to continue on a second gas main.

A signed diversion route via Sheppey Way, Staplehurst Road, St Paul's Street, King Street, Mill Way, Eurolink Way, Crown Quay Lane, A2 Michaels Road, Dover Street, and London Road is in place for affected motorists.

However, Andria and her 37-year-old husband Andy say the diversion does not clearly state that London Road is still open.

The pair, who run the businesses alongside his parents, 63-year-old George and his wife, Flora, have put messages on the fish and chip shop’s social media saying they are still open but say it hasn’t helped much.

She continued: “We rely on the Christmas period and have 22 members of staff but we’ve had to cut their hours just so we’re not at a loss. We’ve been struggling like many businesses since the pandemic and now the roadworks have caused us to lose 40% of our profit, we’re down thousands.”

The couple feel SGN has “overcomplicated” the situation.

Andy said: “We were losing money when the road was down to one lane last week but now it says the road is closed we’ve lost even more. No one notified us that the road was closing or contacted us after the emergency works began to explain what was going on.

“We want clarity, for someone to notify us, I wouldn’t have ordered all the stock and food we have to sell if I’d have known we weren’t going to have any customers.

“I can’t give my staff any notice at a time when they to desperately need their hours.

“The signs need to be clearer. The roadworks and diversion are overcomplicated, it is ridiculous.”

Last week the fish bar, which has been running for 27 years, had 20 calls from customers asking if they were closed and many more bookings cancelled by people who did not know how to get there due to the diversion.

The couple explained that SGN told them, after they’d made a complaint, that compensation is only available if a business is affected by a gas problem.

They also said if they met the criteria then just £100 a day, after 29 days of disruption., is given to a business.

SGN spokesman Dan Brown explained that any businesses that feel they are entitled to compensation from SGN can email customer@sgn.co.uk to make a claim.

He added: “We'd like to assure the local community we’re doing everything can to make the required repairs and reopen A2 Key Street as quickly as possible.

“We notified local parish councillors, emergency services, transport companies and schools of this emergency work, plus issued letters to residents and businesses around our closure area, on or before Friday, December 8.”