A TORY councillor has blamed Bolton Council for the town being named top of a "business graveyard" list.

Stuart Lever, who represents Astley Bridge and runs three businesses, felt "humiliated" to see insolvency rates in the town were nearly twice the national average. He has been a businessman in Bolton for 15 years and believes the town has been beset by problems.

Among those, he says, are over-zealous parking wardens, harsh parking restrictions, high shop rents and the lack of leisure facilities in the town centre.

In a stinging attack on the Labour-controlled council, he said: "This council is just not business-friendly and firms are in constant battle with the local authority over even minor things like the emptying of bins.

"The parking policy is farcical and there are empty shops all over the town. We can't even keep open a swimming pool.

"But the funniest thing is, this town keeps bidding to become a city. We should be bidding to be the best at keeping business open. I feel humiliated to see my town at the top of this league table."

His comments angered deputy council leader Guy Harkin, who said: "This council has an excellent relationship with businesses and some of us work very hard to ensure the town succeeds. We have formed excellent partnerships with many companies. Comments like these do not help."

A survey by the Association of Business Recovery Professionals showed that in 2001 insolvency rates were nearly twice the national average, with 166 of the town's 4,163 businesses folding.

The survey revealed a business in Bolton was 400 per cent more likely to go under than one in South-west London, where one in every 104 businesses go bust. The national average is one in 50.

Bolton's league positioning caused surprise among some sectors of the business community, including Andrew Ratcliff, chief executive of Bolton and Bury Chamber.

He pointed to a recent survey of small businesses by Barclays Bank which revealed Bolton was the eighth best place in England and best in the North-west for fast growth start-ups.

Mr Ratcliff said: "We feel the figures give a misleading picture of Bolton's overall healthy economy."

Mr Lever, who started his company aged 18 with a £1,000 Prince's Trust grant, owns three businesses: The Sandwich Shop in Derby Street; haulage firm Parkside Transport; and van hire company U-Drive. He employs three people.