MAJOR roadworks at Hindhead crossroads for the last five months have hit local businesses hard.

Traders based in the section of London Road leading from the traffic lights to the Devil's Punch Bowl said the loss of passing trade, along with work by the Highways Agency to restore the old road to heathland, had taken away their custom.

The Highways Agency has said business owners affected could qualify for compensation – but traders believe they may not be eligible, and even if they are it could be too little, too late.

For full story, see this week's Haslemere Herald.