A WORRIED business owner said he is considering quitting unless something is done to combat crime.Bill Nay, owner of Semer Plant Hire in Hadleigh said his business on the Lady Lane Industrial Estate has been broken into a dozen times in four years and wants to see an increased security presence.

A WORRIED business owner said he is considering quitting unless something is done to combat crime.

Bill Nay, owner of Semer Plant Hire in Hadleigh said his business on the Lady Lane Industrial Estate has been broken into a dozen times in four years and wants to see an increased security presence.

During a meeting last night, hosted by the Hadleigh Chamber of Commerce to discuss crime levels in both the Lady Lane and Pond Hall industrial estates Mr Nay said: “I'm thinking about withdrawing my business from Hadleigh because I'm fed up with it.

“I've spent an awful lot of money trying to protect my business and it hasn't got me anywhere.

“Before I go to bed every night I have to check to see if there's any security problems; it really gets under your skin.”

Mr Nay said seven of the break-ins to his premises in Crockatt Road had taken place in the last year.

He said he was unhappy with police response times to the incidents and wanted to see an increased security presence on the estate.

His thoughts were echoed by other business owners at the meeting, some of whom said they had stopped reporting crimes to the police because they felt there was no point in doing so.

Richard Pemberton, chief executive of Celotex who chaired the meeting at the Priory Hall in Hadleigh, said: “It's not the costs of what's stolen (that is the problem).

“It's the damage that's done and the disruption it causes businesses.”

After listening to the business leaders' concerns Inspector Bob Cracknell, Suffolk police sector commander for Hadleigh, said police records showed there had been just 25 crimes on the industrial estates since last May.

He said: “If we don't have a proper picture of what's going on it's very hard to target what's going on.

“The (Hadleigh) police station is staffed 24 hours a day but they don't stay in the police station waiting for a call to come in.”

n Do you think enough is done to tackle crime in industrial estates? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.