A WEYMOUTH trader says continued flooding caused by heavy rain is turning his seafront business into a wash-out.

David Fisher, who is the general manager of Pier View Amusements on Weymouth Esplanade, says potential customers are turning away because they don’t want to paddle through inches of water to reach his premises.

He says he has been calling on Weymouth and Portland Borough Council to clear out the drains outside his business for a number of years but the problem still occurs every winter.

Mr Fisher, who has run Pier View Amusements for 16 years, said: “This has been a problem for several years and it happens every time we get heavy rain.

“I’ve had to shut my business on a couple of occasions because people couldn’t get in.

“Weymouth and Portland Borough Council has reassured me on several occasions that the road gullies will be cleared, but here we are once again with a flood and a blocked drain.

“This is affecting my business because customers don’t want to go paddling through it to come in.”

Mr Fisher said he first tried contacting the council about the problem, which he believes is caused by a build-up of beach sand, in 2003, but the area still floods in heavy rain each winter.

Mr Fisher added that the flooding is often so bad that pedestrians walk in the road instead of on the pavement.

He also believes the council must be losing revenue because the flooding makes car parking spaces on the esplanade unusable.

Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s spokeswoman for transport and infrastructure, Councillor Christine James, said: “The cleansing of the esplanade gullies is part of our yearly cleaning operation.

“However, our officers do encounter difficulties when cars block the access route.

“We are aware that there is a problem with drainage in this area and officers are in the process of obtaining a gully cart to address this as soon as possible.

“Extra provisions have also been taken to try to help drainage on the esplanade with the installation of special concrete manholes called ‘soakaways’ which will enable rain water to drain away from the area more quickly,” she added.