AN angry newsagent says redevelopment work - which council chiefs have claimed will attract shoppers to the town centre - is actually driving his customers away.

And Harold Bate, who has run his shop in Baldwin Street with his wife Ann for the last 15 years, says the dramatic slump in trade is causing him sleeless nights.

The work is part of a three-year council refurbishment programme targeting various areas in and around St Helens. And although the Ormskirk Street phase, which affects Mr Bate's shop, is only expected to last six months, he says even that is too long.

He told the Star: "Our trade has taken a nose-dive. Since the building work started, we are something £200 a day down on what we normally take and it's getting to the stage where I can't sleep at night.

"To make matters worse, a bus stop over the road from the shop from which we normally get a lot of passing trade, has now been moved elsewhere so this can't have come at a worse time for us."

Mr Bate is also angry that he can't claim compensation for the loss of trade: "It doesn't seem right that we're not entitled to some sort of compensation. After all, if the Water Board carry out any work near here we are entitled to recompense but it seems as if the council can do what they like and we just have to put up with it."

A spokesman for St Helens Council said: "All the shops in the area concerned by the refurbishment of Ormskirk Street were notified and asked their opinion and we had no adverse reaction. In addition, we held exhibitions on the refurbishment programme in Church Square Shopping Centre and various libraries.

"The aim of the refurbishment plan is to attract new customers to the town so, although we will do our best to stem any inconvenience to local traders, in the long term we are actually helping shops like this.

"As for the matter of the bus stop near the shop being moved, that decision was taken by Merseytravel and has nothing to do with us."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.