SHOP owners in Sudbury have been left dreading the next heavy downpour after the county council made an error with the levels of a new �60,000 traffic-calming measure.

The raised platform on King Street was supposed to make it safer for people to cross the road, which is at a busy intersection on the town centre’s one-way system.

But because the road hump is on a level with the pavement, when it rains the water pours off the raised area and straight under the neighbouring shop doors.

Suffolk County Council’s contractors have taken some measures to try to improve the situation, but the owner of Hy-Line gentlemen’s hairdressers, Andrew Dixey, said other issues had arisen as a result.

“We have had numerous problems, but the main one is that the council got the level of the pavement wrong, which meant that water was running towards our door rather than away from it,” he said.

“In fairness the council contractors are attempting to resolve the problems and have been very co-operative.

“They came out to the shop, put in a new doorstep and raised the steps to the shop, but that just means when it rains, we now get a huge puddle outside the door instead, which isn’t great for customers.”

Next door at Lingard Fabrics, water has also been running under a side door, and one of the sales assistants said: “The lino got wet and we couldn’t even get the door open – the council has had to pay to replace the flooring.”

A spokesman for Suffolk County Council said: “We are aware of some issues with rain water running off around the crossing and have already instructed our contractors to raise the entrance levels at the shops affected.

“We believe that some of the problem has been caused by drainage difficulties on the pavement. We will of course come out again to see what can be done to rectify the situation.”

At a recent Sudbury highways and footpaths committee meeting, opinion was divided as to whether the roadworks had improved safety or made the situation more confusing for motorists and pedestrians.

Commitee member Tony Platt said: “Since this has been done, it has become less obvious where you should cross the road, which has actually added to the danger.”

The county council spokesman added: “Following feedback, we are planning to install signage at the crossing to ensure motorists are aware that this is a place where a lot of pedestrians cross the road.”