A PORTISHEAD trader says if vandal attacks on her business continue, she could be forced to close. Claire Macdonald, who owns Read and Rite Books in Stoke Road, arrived for work on Monday morning to find her rear window of the store had been smashed in. T

A PORTISHEAD trader says if vandal attacks on her business continue, she could be forced to close.Claire Macdonald, who owns Read and Rite Books in Stoke Road, arrived for work on Monday morning to find her rear window of the store had been smashed in.This is the second window which has been smashed in the space of five weeks and she says, if the attacks continue, it could eventually force her out of business.Mrs Macdonald said: "We think the attack must have happened late on Saturday night as the shop was fine when we closed up."It is going to cost me well over £100 to repair and we can't claim on the insurance as it doesn't cover things like smashed windows."We had a similar attack about five weeks ago when the front window had a rock thrown through it."Each time this happens, it costs us money and eventually it is going to be a cost we cannot bear any longer."I know a number of shops in the town who have also been suffering with vandalism and graffiti recently. We are all in the same situation and these are costs that all of us cannot continue to bear."Mrs Macdonald said in the past she had also suffered with people shoving items, such as pots of yoghurt, through her letterbox.She added: "It caused a real mess and was difficult to clear up."The Waitrose garage has encountered problems with rowdy youngsters and last month was forced to close early on Friday nights.Businesses in West Hill say they have also encountered problems with teens who gather at the shops in the evening.Portishead Chamber of Trade and Commerce president Ron Hazelton said: "What we need is a bigger police presence on the streets of Portishead."The youths are still gathering at the back of the shops in the High Street and causing problems."A lot of the time, these incidents do go unreported and traders just end up paying for repairs."I would urge traders to report every incident of damage to the police so they can get a picture of what is going on."Portishead Police Sergeant Terry Scoble said: "I fully support Mr Hazelton's comments that every incident should be reported to the police."An increase in anti social behaviour has been noticed in the build up to Halloween and bonfire night."We have the names of four youths who we will be speaking to and considering serving acceptable behaviour contracts on."Pictured are Claire Macdonald and Sarah Kauz outside Read and Rite Books.