A JEWELLER says he has become the latest victim of the crisis affecting traders in the centre of St Albans, as highlighted by our Save Our Shops (SOS) campaign.

Felix Barroeta, owner of Iguana in Holywell Hill, which sells handcrafted silver jewellery, says he fears he will have to shut up shop after Christmas. The shop has been open for ten years but has seen a steady drop in trade over the last three.

Mr Barroeta, 48, has a 19-year-old daughter at university and a 15-year-old son at school, and says he will have to go back to his previous career as a freelance musician once Iguana has closed.

He said: "When it was good it was good, but what's the point now when you don't see anyone all day? It's the same problem that everyone else has talked about, we need more customers.

"Three years ago we went down by 20 per cent, and then last year by another 20 per cent, and then this year we've lost another 50 per cent. We just can't survive.

"Hopefully we'll be able to trade until Christmas, as that's the best month."

Mr Barroeta said the city centre improvement scheme had a dramatic effect on business.

"The roadworks in Chequer Street killed off a lot of trade," he said. "We used to say we wished St Albans was chock-a-block with people instead of chock-a-block with roadworks. And when you see all these traffic wardens it puts people off.

"The way things are going it's like a domino effect.

"We are trying our best and having a 20 per cent sale at the moment, but unless things change dramatically there's no point."