A SHOPKEEPER who says her trade has been decimated by the introduction of car parking charges has now been ordered to remove an advertising sign.

Amanda Grove, who owns Allfresh grocer's in Link Top, put the sign out in a bid to win back trade, which she says has dropped by half since Malvern Hills District Council started to charge people to use the car park opposite in June.

"We have reached the point where we wonder if it's worthwhile carrying on," she said.

"People are not prepared to pay to park across the road, and the parking spaces outside the shop are taken with staff cars from the businesses round here."

She put her sign up on the pavement just up the road from her shop.

"It was well back, so people couldn't trip over it," she said.

However, a Highways Partner-ship officer came round and told her to move it, so she shifted it onto the narrow grass verge on the opposite side of the road.

Then a warden employed by the Malvern Hills Conservators, which owns the strip, turned up and ordered her to put it somewhere else.

"That was the final straw," she said. "We have already lost so much trade because of the car parking that it's nearly not worth opening up, and now we can't even put a sign up."

Mike Davies, highways partnership manager, said: "The sign was almost completely blocking the footpath, and Mrs Grove was very co-operative when she was asked to move it."

A spokesman for the Malvern Hills Conservators said: "It is against the conservators' policy to allow advertising on their land unless it is for a charitable purpose."

Mrs Grove said her business was losing £400 a week.

"We've only been here for a little over a year, but if it carries on like this, we won't be here much longer.

"The authorities in this town don't seem to care that it's dying on its feet."

She has won support from neighbouring businesses.

Roseanne Crump, who has run Roseanne's Flowers for 30 years, said: "It's an absolute nightmare. All of us are suffering because of this (the parking situation)."

Norman Rowlands, co-owner of DAR Electrical, said: "Since that car park has been charging, I've had to walk across there with people's deliveries maybe once or twice. I used to walk across there once or twice a day before.

"No-one uses it except for kids on skateboards," said his colleague Peter Chacksfield.

Paul Sobczyk, head of client services at Malvern Hills District Council, said the pay and display meter has so far netted £400 for the council.

However, the meter has suffered an estimated £1,000-worth of vandalism.