HUNDREDS of local businesses are breaking the law and face potentially damaging fines because of new disability legislation.

Now traders' leaders warn that some businesses in the town may be forced to close as a result with the loss of many jobs.

Councillor Judy Marshall, (Labour-Charford), claims shops, offices and other businesses in the town are burying their heads in the sand and ignoring the new Disability Discrimination Act.

Companies and organisations which do not comply face a minimum fine of £5,000.

Health and safety watchdogs also warn they will make random checks to ensure organisations have effective arrangements to evacuate disabled people in an emergency.

The legislation covers a whole range of disabilities, from paralysis to partial sight, from deafness to dyslexia.

Cllr Marshall, aged 61, has been disabled since birth and is confined to a wheelchair after seven months in hospital.

"The last time I was in Bromsgrove the situation was very bad. Many shops and offices are just impossible for a disabled person,"she said.

Legislation

"Many businesses are burying their heads in the sand. This legislation will force them to take the issue seriously. Prosecutions, especially of the larger businesses, will change attitudes."

She also called upon the council to show a lead: "The local authority needs to set a good example and there is certainly room for improvement with some council facilities," she said.

But Anita Mears, from BroMark, the Bromsgrove traders group, warned that although shops want to help disabled people there were limits.

"Many shop landlords are unlikely to be prepared to pay for major structural changes to buildings and the result could be businesses forced to close and jobs lost," she said.

"There must be a reasonable and common sense approach."

It is estimated that more than 15,000 people in Bromsgrove have some kind of disability.