Bradford's small businesses have seen an increase in late payments, despite the introduction of legislation aimed at stopping the practice.

The Late Payment Act, which was introduced in 1998, aimed to combat the problem which can easily jeopardise business success.

A recent survey by clearlybusiness.com found 21 per cent of those questioned had seen a rise in late payments over the past 12 months.

But, 34 per cent of businesses taking part in the poll admitted being late payers themselves.

This is despite 17 per cent of firms in the district saying they would never do business again with a late payer.

On average, firms in Bradford are being paid late five occasions a year.

Three per cent said if they had been paid late by a customer they would only ever deal with them on a cash up front basis.

A further 27 per cent said they would not trust a customer again if they paid late and would be cautious about dealing with them in the future.