Wildfire road closure leaves business counting cost

It should have been the busiest Saturday of the summer for one Bournemouth food stall but the closure of a main route into the seaside resort due to a major wildfire has seen its customer numbers dwindle, said the co-owner.

The A31 has been shut since 9 August after a van fire spread to nearby heathland, affecting about 165 acres (75 hectares) in the New Forest National Park.

However, a determined few are still travelling miles to visit J&R Smokehouse despite the continuing closure of the road between Southampton and Bournemouth.

"We are selling one sandwich every half an hour, which is very different compared to this time last year where we have served thousands of people," said the stall's co-owner Juan Miguel Ortega.

One family from Milton Keynes made a nearly five-and-a-half hour journey to reach the Dorset town.

Naveen Kumar told the BBC he did not know about the road closure before setting off.

He said: "I still would have come but I would have planned accordingly.

"At first, the satnav was saying three hours and 20 minutes but, after I made a stop at the services with my family, it got longer."

Arben Boku, who made the trip from Twickenham with his family, said it had a lot of twists and turns.

"At a point in the journey I didn't know where we were going, actually, because Google maps put us in some forest and parks roads... some of them, just one car can go through."

Kerrie Carter was visiting friends and said that because she was driving a van from Suffolk the journey was harder.

"It took us well over six hours to get here and we had to come via the M25 and lots of back road, lots of country roads," she said.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you which other roads we took because we don't know."

Ortega said he was staying open later to make up for a loss of earnings.

"The comparison is that, at the moment, I'm selling let's say one or two sandwiches every half an hour to an hour.

"Normally, I would be like at least 15 to 16 different orders an hour.

"There's not a lot I can do about it but I pay a little bit more advertising to see if I can get more people around."

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council leader, Millie Earl, said the beaches were still busy despite the A31 closure.

She said: "What we are finding is that our car parks are very full and people are still parking along the cliff tops, as they shouldn't be.

"Some people are reporting that it is a bit quieter but, at the same time, people are making the most of it because it is a wonderful place to visit."

The A31 iis not expected to reopen until 20 August at the earliest.