The manager of a petrol station in Chaddesley Corbett has spoken of her "relief" after work on the A448 finished earlier than expected.  

Danni Tooth, who runs Chaddesley Fuel Station and Shop, said she was delighted to hear that work on the A448 Kidderminster Road was complete as the closure was having a huge impact on trade. 

She said customer numbers had nearly halved since Severn Trent's work to replace a water main started on Monday (February 19) and did not improve throughout the five weeks of work. 

Ms Tooth said: "It's great news that the road has now reopened. Hopefully, we can start going back to normal for the business. 

"The road closure had a massive impact on us and it didn't really get any better throughout the work. We had to juggle a lot of shifts and make sure we didn't have too many staff in each day. 

"It has come as a great surprise that the work has finished early. It's a big relief."

The work on the A448 started in May 2023 but had to be abandoned due to a road worker being seriously injured after being hit by a vehicle. 

The closure was in place 24/7 and there is no through route to Kidderminster from Bromsgrove between Harvington Hall Lane and Dobes Lane. 

The road was expected to be closed for three months until May 13, but Severn Trent managed to complete the water mains replacement work quicker than expected. 

The final checks on the road were completed on Thursday (March 21) with the closure lifted today (Friday, March 22).

Ms Tooth added: "The past five weeks have been really difficult for the business, but we are so grateful to all our customers for their support."