THE future of an ambitious booktown project in the Gwent Valleys is in doubt as traders threaten to quit the town due to attacks of vandalism.

Blaenavon was transformed into a booktown two years ago, but now the dream is under threat from growing anti-social behaviour.

Book shops in Blaenavon's historic Broad Street were targeted on Friday night in the latest in a long line of incidents.

Booktown founder James Hanna said: "The sustainability of the town is going to be in jeopardy unless something major happens. The situation is disgusting. I have been reluctant to speak out.

"At the moment it looks like the yobs have control."

But Blaenavon councillor Neil Lewis insisted the incidents did not spell the end of the town's renaissance after years of economic depression.

He said: "We will stamp this out - we have to. Blaenavon is moving forward and too much has been invested in redeveloping it.

"We need to make sure youngsters believe in the future of the town.

"Policing in the town needs to be beefed up.

"I'm very concerned about the situation over the last few weekends."

Megan Murphy, 60, owns Serendipity Books. The main window of her shop was smashed.

She is now considering her future in the town. "When I first saw the damage my first thought was 'that's it, I've had enough'.

"This type of behaviour will stop people from coming to the town.

"If that happens then Blaenavon will die and will never recover.

"When I first came to the town I experienced a lot of intimidation from gangs of youngsters, with young girls especially, stealing from the shop. But now it's escalated into this."

Ms Murphy makes the 80-mile round trip to Blaenavon from Ystradgynlais in the Swansea valley every day.

"I came purely because of the booktown," she said.

Jason Crewe, 37, of Abersychan, owns Quality Books in Broad Street.

He is closing his shop at the end of the year following the vandalism.

He said: "Visitors to this town will see the boarded-up windows and they won't come back again.

"I can't hang around any longer with this going on. It's the final straw."

Nick Dalziel, who lives in London but plans to open a book shop within a month, had the windows of his new premises smashed.

He said: "It's disappointing to say the least. It's ironic that I'm trying to create something and other people are trying to destroy."

Pontypool's crime reduction officer, PC Andy Cleaton, said: "This type of thing is just mindless.

"Blaenavon is trying to improve itself and when the these local yobs do things like this it does not help the area.

Police are appealing for witnesses and are pursuing lines of inquiry.

Torfaen council said they will talk to traders and residents about the possibility of CCTV cameras.