ANGRY traders are threatening to stop paying Council Tax following an upsurge in crime on a Bromyard trading estate.

They have signed a petition calling on Herefordshire Council to halt the activities of thieves and vandals.

In recent months, hundreds of litres of diesel have been siphoned from vehicles, scrap metal has been stolen and damage caused to vehicles and buildings on the Linton Trading Estate.

The most recent incident saw thieves steal fuel from a disused bus overnight last week.

Martin Perry, proprietor of bus company Omnibus, said: "We're trying to put pressure on Herefordshire Council".

"There's quite a lot of potential on this site but those of us here are not prepared to invest anymore in it if we're going to be at further risk from anti-social behaviour."

Mr Perry said he knows of a wealthy local businessman who would be interested in investing in the estate but who has been put off by the crime levels.

Mr Perry said one plan was to withhold Council Tax until action was taken.

Richard Williams, operations director at Holden Aluminium Technologies, said £70,000 of scrap aluminium had been stolen from its site in the past year. The firm has also invested around £15,000 in security measures and has seen its insurance premium triple.

Mr Williams said he was at a loss to know what more could be done after putting in CCTV cameras, gates and security fences.

"What can we do? Not a week goes by when I don't report something to the Police," he said.

"Last week vandals attacked one of the walls with a piece of scaffolding. Everyone on the estate is being broken into and in the past month it's definitely escalated."

David Gill, a partner in Bromyard Reproductions, said his business had seen a reduction in crime since fitting an alarm system.

However, he said: "You never know if you're going to be broken into."

Police said they were currently studying video footage of one incident of vandalism.

Herefordshire Council's head of environmental health and trading standards, Andy Tector, said he could not comment fully on the situation because of potential legal proceedings.