TRADERS have reacted angrily to an announcement that two of Bolton town centre's six ambassadors are to be made redundant because of funding cuts.

The news comes after the Bolton Town Centre Company lost out on £100,000 a year in European funding because the town does not meet new criteria.

The cash-strapped Town Centre Company, which employs the team of ambassadors, has now turned to Bolton Council for extra financial help to continue employing a smaller team of four ambassadors.

The ambassadors, who act as "troubleshooters" in the town centre, are employed to look after the town centre environment and ensure visitors receive the highest standard of customer service.

Team members have radios and act as "extra eyes and ears", liaising closely with businesses and supporting the police.

The announcement of the job losses was made at a meeting of the Bolton Business Crime Initiative, where traders say they were told the cutback may also affect the monitoring of the town's CCTV system.

The ambassadors work in the control room during the day, and traders say it was suggested in the meeting that the depleted team may no longer be able to operate the network during the daytime.

Traders feel that a team of four would struggle to carry out their work, and they had been expecting the appointment of more ambassadors, who earn a salary of about £15,000 a year.

Town Centre Company manager Cathy Savage said she was very disappointed by the news but would have to manage with the remaining ambassadors.

She said: "Our funding finished on December 31 and we do not meet the new criteria. We are talking with Bolton Council to look at every avenue to secure funding. We are working closely to keep the remaining four ambassadors' jobs secure."

"They are a fantastic team and a credit to the town, but if we don't have the funding, we simply don't have it."

Mrs Savage said that the problem has been compounded by low membership of the Town Centre Company.

Traders say that the move is a "huge step back" for the town centre. Warren Small, who runs family business Small's Army Stores, in Bradshawgate, said: "No-one is happy about it. Four ambassadors will certainly not be enough to patrol the whole town centre."

Paul Nicklen, manager of Gate News in Bradshawgate said: "We have people suggesting spending money on a name change when we can't afford to keep the ambassadors."

Bolton Council leader Cllr Bob Howarth said: "We increased our funding to it about 18-months-ago and with our current budget pressures we will not be able to do much more.

"It is a shame but I think if more businesses pulled together to support the Town Centre Company, maybe they could have maintained the service."