Stinking drains in South Street have cost one Deal small business owner her livelihood, it is claimed.

Amanda Goring, 54, closed the door on Diva’s Boutique recently after four years of fighting against the smell from sewage drains on her doorstep.

She says the pong is so “vile” that, along with new competition, it stopped people from visiting her clothing and accessories store.

Ms Goring, who worked in property for 16 years before going self-employed, says the shop became unviable and, as a result, she is now jobless.

She plans to buy a camper van and go off travelling in Europe while she plans her future.

She said: “The drains always stink! It’s not a new problem but I was the one who tried to do something about it.

“But it’s cost me my business.

“I’ve fought with the council and Southern Water for four years but they don’t fix it.

“This end of High Street is like Beirut, nobody shops down this end of the High Street.

“We should be a prime location but people don’t shop past Poundland.

“I’m devastated and exhausted by it all.”

Ms Goring explained that in previous years she has paid money out of her own pocket in an attempt to improve the appearance of the area around South Street.

She fought for it to become known as the South Street quarter, paid for decorative Christmas trees and hanging baskets and invited a school choir to sing in the street as part of a festive celebration.

She is now calling for a long term solution for the sake of other small businesses.

A spokesman for Southern Water said: “We understand how distressing unpleasant odours can be which is why, following complaints from people in the area, we have visited South Street on a number of occasions, including a further visit last night.

“We have once again checked our network and are satisfied the sewers are working correctly.

"This end of High Street is like Beirut" - Amanda Goring

“Because we have found no fault on our network, we believe the highway gullies - which are not maintained by us - are responsible for the smell.

“Each time, despite finding no faults, we have cleaned our sewer network. We will always investigate any reports of high odour levels, as we know from time to time things can go wrong with our network and we’re grateful to our customers for reporting any suspected problems to us.”

“They come out but it doesn’t make a difference. They clear the old sewage and then it get replenished and new sewage comes in.”

Kent County Council has not yet commented.