TRADERS have claimed roadworks being carried out in their town are having a serious impact on business.

They say customers are being put off going to Pickering's main shopping area by county council signs saying Market Place closed.

Victor Buchanan, chairman of Pickering Chamber of Trade, said it was vital for visitors to know the town was not closed for business.

"Myself and other traders have noticed a definite downturn in business and it is because of these signs," he said.

"We are suffering anyway because the foot-and-mouth crisis has led to a reduction in visitor numbers, but now my local trade is also being affected - people are seeing the signs, thinking they can't go up there and are not bothering."

But North Yorkshire County Council's area traffic manager, Tony Wright, said: "Trade is down because of the foot-and-mouth crisis - visitors are not coming into rural areas and market towns as a result. We have altered the signs and I would disagree that they are the cause of a decline in trade."

The roadworks are expected to last another two weeks.