MORE crimes are committed against small businesses in Yorkshire than anywhere else in Britain, costing the region millions of pounds a year, according to a new survey.

Small enterprises in Yorkshire and Humber endure the highest incidence of vandalism, vehicle thefts, robbery and burglary, says the survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The survey, coinciding with the FSB's 30th anniversary, indicates that more than almost half of its Yorkshire and Humber member businesses questioned had been victims of crime in the past 12 months.

The FSB, the biggest business membership organisation in the UK, has 12,500 member businesses in the region, of which more than half have six employees.

A 1,105 sample of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) questioned in Yorkshire and Humber for the FSB's Lifting The Barriers To Growth In UK Small Businesses, said that the most common attacks were vandalism (32 per cent), vehicle damage (30 per cent), vehicle theft (13 per cent), robbery (ten per cent) and burglary (20 per cent). All are the highest incidence of such crimes in the UK.

But Mark Jefferies, the FSB's Yorkshire and Humber policy chairman, said the figures were "only the tip of a huge iceberg" and indicated that crime against small businesses was a vast and growing problem.

He said:"Our survey shows that 45 per cent of small businesses are victims of crime and it costs them an average of £1,000 each. This means that crime costs the region's 260,000 SMEs a total of £100 million a year.

"Crime against small businesses distracts owner managers from concentrating on running their enterprise in a highly-competitive environment.

"Crime, often persistent , is an identifiable barrier to businesses growth. It tarnishes the region's image and adversely affects its economy in terms of profitability, job creation and attracting investment."

Updated: 11:18 Wednesday, November 10, 2004