WORKS along Benfleet High Road are putting businesses at risk as potential customers are prevented from parking, a store owner has said.

UK Power Networks (UKPN) has begun work to install a new electricity connection for an unidentified “customer” and are expected to be finished in ten days.

Nicola Munro, who runs Nicky’s Nails on High Road, Benfleet, says the works are keeping customers from visiting at what should be the busiest time of year.

“We’ve had three people in that last half hour ring in and cancel their bookings for tomorrow as they know they won’t be able to park,” she said yesterday afternoon.

“Considering how hard a time it has been recently, we have been closed and had to pay our rent all the way through lockdown, it really hurts,” Nicola continued.

“This time of year is usually such a wonderful time for us, we’re normally doing back-to-back clients and exceptionally busy, but today one of my girls only had one person in, because no one else could get parked.”

Nicola has run her nail and beauty salon for 20 years, and her father ran travel agent Golden Travel from the same store front for 42 years before that.

However, she says she has never seen anything like this before and it is the first time her customers have found it hard to reach her.

“A lot of my customers are mums have got their children in pre-school for a couple of hours in the morning, or ladies who come from Braintree and Southend, and now they can’t park, it’s not right,” she said.

“It would have been nice to have a bit of notice. We were open every single day and nobody came and let us know.”

A UKPN spokesperson: “We are installing a new electricity connection for a customer in Benfleet and are due to finish our work by December 10.

“We always endeavour to finish earlier if at all possible and keep disruption to a minimum.

“Our teams are currently working to reduce the size of the roadworks, if possible, in order to free up some parking spaces

“We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”