A week after a Gloucestershire town was hit by flooding, traders have said they feel let down by the response from their MP and district council.

Lydney, in the Forest of Dean, was flooded when the River Lyd overflowed during Storm Bert.

“Our city councilman came to see if everything was OK, but I didn’t see anyone else,” said Sara Smith of the Bridge Café, which was flooded.

Forest of Dean District Council said it had contacted the town council “to ensure appropriate resources are in place for the safety of residents”.

Paul Clark, of Coffee Local, inside Regents Walk shopping centre, told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: “It’s not good, it feels like we’re being ignored.”

His business was not affected by the flooding, but he said the damage prevented customers from visiting his store.

“Our customers cannot reach us and there is a lack of information,” he said.

“We are continually receiving second-hand information about which roads are reopening.

“We empathize with the people (who were flooded), but we have a business to run and if something doesn’t happen soon there will be a lot of businesses that won’t survive Christmas.”

There has also been criticism of Forest of Dean MP, Labour’s Matt Bishop.

Sara Smith was one of the traders who felt Mr Bishop should have visited her.

Fridges, freezers and carpets were damaged in her cafe, above which she lives.

She said she would risk becoming homeless if her business went bankrupt.

“It’s devastating,” she added.

She was visited by a Lydney town councillor, but said she had not seen anyone else “of any importance”.

“It’s really very annoying because if we hadn’t elected them (to Parliament) they wouldn’t have a seat,” she said.

Mr Bishop was due to visit Lydney on Monday and said: “I have spoken to the Mayor of Lydney and will be co-ordinating a multi-agency meeting to look at what has gone wrong and what improvements can be made.”

A spokesperson for Forest of Dean District Council said they had provided free waste and skip collection.

They said: “Since last Monday, our advisers and officers have been traveling to Lydney to help businesses and households, carrying out welfare checks and establishing the extent of flood damage to determine whether further action or flood mitigation programs could be implemented in the future. »