A pub landlord has slammed authorities for a surprise road closure which he claims lost the business £3,000 in one week.

Iain Moran of the Theydon Oak in Coopersale Street, Epping, says there was no prior notification of the work and no chance to prepare for the impact on his business.

Stonards Hill – which meets Coopersale Street at the pub – has been closed since last week during Affinity Water works to repair a burst mains, and the board said it does not notify customers before “unplanned” works begin.

Mr Moran said the road closure has stopped many people from visiting, losing him trade.

He said: “It is just gutting when we have had such a good year and then to be knocked by something you don’t know about.”

The work is being carried out with authorisation from Essex County Council, which said all other responsibilities lie with the water board.

The repairs are due to be finished by Friday (October 28).

Affinity apologised for inconvenience caused by the burst main, and added: “Due to the temporary bypass and the complexity of repair to the existing main, we needed to close the road to ensure the safety of commuters and our technicians working on site.”

Mr Moran said authorities have failed to respond properly after he criticised the lack of notification for the work close to the pub, recently named in the Campaign for Real Ale’s Good Pub and Good Beer guides.

He said: “They haven’t made up for the impact on the business.

“It is frustrating because it might impact the business but it also impacts all my staff, they get sent home or lose out on a shift, it affects everybody.”

However, a spokesman for Affinity said: “When it’s an unplanned event, we don’t know when it’s going to happen so we can’t proactively inform customers… we don’t know what’s going to happen.

“If it’s planned work we do let customers know.”