The building works at Charter Place are a danger to disabled pedestrians, a campaigning group has claimed.

Disability Watford said the barriers around the works block off a section of footpath in High Street forcing pedestrians to cross the road twice at its busy junction with Market Street.

The group said they have had numerous complaints about near misses from disabled people trying to navigate past the barriers.

Leigh Hutchins, Disability Watford chairman, said there was a danger people could trip or get run over with the current lay out.

He said: "They are expecting people to cross over and then cross back. They usually put a 1.5m walkway with a barrier for pedestrians, but they haven't here.

"It isn't so easy for visually impaired people, for example, to keep crossing the road, especially with people driving and cycling through High Street.

"We've already had people get in touch saying they've nearly fallen over.

"We've talked to people at both Watford Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council, but we keep getting passed between the two.

"The complaints we've had now have got into double figures.

"I hope we don't have another three years of this.

"You can't expect people to walk in the road."

The long awaited £100 million Charter Place redevelopment, which is being undertaken by intu, started at the beginning of November.

The demolition is expected to last for up to four months. Workman have already remove all the benches, litter bins, paving slabs and cycle racks.

Once complete, the new building will house up to 16 shops, 10 restaurants and a nine-screen IMAX cinema.

A public square will also be created that will host an events programme, including street art and music shows.

In a statement, Hertfordshire County Council said the authority would be working with intu to improve access for pedestrians.

The council said: "We are sorry to hear that people are experiencing difficulties getting past the works in Charter Place in Watford.

"We will contact the developer, intu, and ask them to look at improving the signage for the alternative route for pedestrians.