BARNSLEY and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce president Tracey Lally has quit following a plunge in membership during the credit crunch.

She has resigned because she believes the chamber should be doing more to support businesses.

About 1,100 Barnsley firms were in the chamber when it merged with its counterpart in Rotherham two years ago. That figure is now down to fewer than 500.

Mrs Lally, who was due to stand down in October at the end of her two-year presidency, has been at odds about the level of support the chamber has been giving to recession-hit firms for about eight weeks.

She described the last two months as 'horrendous'. Her resignation letter said she had been 'frustrated, angry and annoyed'.

Full story in this week's town edition.