Newsagents are under more pressure now than at any time in recent memory, the head of the trade body in the West Midlands has said.

But the credit crunch could provide an unlikely reprieve, as customers look for cheaper places closer to home to do their shopping, he added.

Parminder Singh, who has run a newsagent in Hay Mills, Birmingham, for more than 18 years, said he could not remember a time when trading conditions had been as bad for independent retailers.

Mr Singh is the head of the West Midlands district of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), and was recently appointed to the third highest position in the national structure.

“I would think conditions now are more difficult than I have ever seen, but we are trying to do our best,” he said. “We can’t just sit and do nothing.”

He said newsagents were facing a “triple whammy” of rising business crime rates, pressure from supermarkets and a general drop in newspaper circulations.

Crime against businesses costs the West Midlands about £14,000 an hour, and newsagents are among the most vulnerable traders because of their often isolated locations and the long hours worked by many stores.

The NFRN was currently in negotiation with Advantage West Midlands about the possibility of grants or loans for newsagents to pay for security measures in deprived areas, he said.

And it is working with local and national governments on draft planning regulations to stop locally shops being eased out of town centres by larger chains. But he said the credit crunch, although it had had a negative impact on retail newsagents – as with any other sector – could proved to be a relative boon to small retailers.

“Being small businesses, and in the retail sector, I think the effect on newsagents is possibly not as great as on some big firms.”

And he said he believed some smaller retailers could be seeing an upturn in business as people looked to cut costs, just as low-budget supermarkets like Aldi had been performing well recently.

“People are looking for bargains so they are moving away from bigger supermarkets and going to smaller establishments,” he said.

“It may have actually helped some people, we don’t have any statistics because its just beginning to take its effect, but that’s what I believe.”

Mr Singh has worked closely with the West Midlands Business Council, of which he is a member, to improve conditions for newsagents since his national appointment.

He was voted into the position with a significant majority just over a week ago, and is the first Sikh to represent the industry in an official capacity.

He said: “It is by working with the West Midlands Business Council that we have gained a series of successes for local newsagents such.

“But it is the work of the West Midlands Business Council in tackling crime that has received most recognition from newsagents. They have seen a new business crime prevention booklet being made available plus action to tackle truck crime – which can hit deliveries to newsagents.”

WMBC executive director James Watkins said: “We are delighted that Parminder has become the Deputy Vice President of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents.

“Since Parminder became actively involved in the work of the West Midlands Business Council we have seen action on planning, action on crime and action on business finance – all down, in no small measure, to Parminder’s commitment, dedication and leadership.

“We are confident that the skills Parminder has brought to the West Midlands region will benefit the retail sector across the country”.