TRADERS today launched a new fight to save Dorchester's maligned Christmas lights from being axed before the festive season begins.

The town's chamber of commerce has hit out at plans to take down the controversial white bulbs in High West Street and High East Street.

It intends to write to Dorchester Town Council pleading for a stay of execution and wants members to bombard Coun Stella Jones with appeals.

Traders claim it would cost about £1,300 to take the lights down in the high street and that it would be better to keep them up despite the views of the town councillors and Dorchester Civic Society.

Martin Ansell, of the Music Box, said: "It is ludicrous to have them up all year and take them down just before Christmas.

"We had bunting across the street in the summer during the jubilee and people said it looked great. "What's wrong with keeping the lights?"

Dorchester was branded the meanest town in the country for its strings of white lights last year despite £7,500 being spent on putting 16 strings up.

Traders have decided to lobby the council to make their feelings known.

The move comes as more than 116 trees with festive lights are being provided free of charge for businesses by the town council and West Dorset District Council under a deal struck earlier this year. Coun Stella Jones, who was involved in the talks, said it had been agreed that lights would come down in the high street but be added to those staying in South Street.

She added: "It seems as if we need another meeting. We all want to make Dorchester look good.

"It is sad we weren't at the chamber of commerce meeting the other night."

John Manley, chamber vice-president, said traders were doing all they could to 'avoid the bad publicity of last year'.

He added: "We are working hard.

"Everything that can be done is being done."

David Evans, chamber secretary, said the group could not afford to take lights down in the high street and put them back up in South Street.

He claimed it would be better to keep the lights up rather than 'chop and change', use money to bolster them next year and change the white bulbs for coloured ones.

He added that the chamber represented 15 per cent of businesses in town and that it believed it was a council responsibility to provide lights rather than the traders - as in Weymouth, Wareham and Bournemouth.

Dr Margaret Rehahn, of Dorchester Civic Society, said the group would prefer Christmas trees with lights in the high street than white lights.