TRADERS in Canning Town say council works have left them on the road to ruin.

The managers of three businesses in Hallsville Road and Silvertown Way say a six-month Newham Council road improvement scheme has blocked off access to their premises and has had a drastic effect on custom since it began on November 1.

Ron Hubbard, landlord of the Hallsville Tavern pub, said: “The council is going to close us down with this. I don’t think I will survive until April.”

Mr Hubbard said the roadworks shut three of the four roads to his pub and resulted in a drastic decline in business.

“I only get a handful of customers each day now,” he said. He estimates he is losing �1,000 a week.

The 74-year-old, who has been running the Hallsville Tavern since 1987, said he wanted compensation from Newham Council so that he could keep going until work is completed.

Mehmet Karasu, who runs a pizza restaurant in Silvertown Way, said his trade was down by 50 per cent.

“We are having so many cancellations because our customers can’t park. We are paying our rates to the council for nothing. I might as well close.”

George Dowding, who leases a car repair garage from the council in Hallsville Road, said the works have wiped out his business.

A spokesman for Newham Council said: “Ongoing works at Hallsville Road are part of the Custom House and Canning Town regeneration scheme, specifically the replacement of the A13 roundabout with traffic signals to allow the town centre to grow.

“It will reconnect the north and south of Canning Town while also making it more pedestrian-friendly for people walking from Canning Town Station to the centre.

“Inevitably with any construction work there can be some disruption and our project managers are in dialogue with businesses to discuss remedial measures where applicable.”