A Bradford businessman today offered hard-pressed manufacturers across the district a controversial way of saving money - come to Poland.

Mark Finnegan claimed businesses across Bradford are fighting red tape and employment legislation that costs UK firms up to £25 billion a year.

And Mr Finnegan and partner Greg Townsend said they have created a base in the former Eastern Bloc country to offer an alternative. The pair run electrical and mechanical engineers Klaudia Control Systems Ltd from a base on Leeds Road in Bradford but also own a site in Lodz in Poland, where they claim overheads are low. Mr Townsend spends most of his time in Poland where they employ 40 staff at the site but are hoping to take over more space on the site and have up to 100 workers available for manufacturing or assembling goods.

The firm, currently carrying out the £350,000 electrical work at Clarendon Plaza, the new student accommodation at Leeds University from its Bradford base, already has a contract with a Slough company to produce office light fittings in Poland.

But Mr Finnegan claimed he was not aiming to slash jobs in the district.

"Bradford has enough low paid jobs and doesn't need any more,'' he said. ''We want to protect businesses across the city.'' "If we can reduce their production costs we can improve their competitive edge.

"That could be the answer for many companies struggling to survive," he said. Mr Finnegan knows his idea is controversial, but he said he had already seen encouraging signs from firms in Bradford and Keighley.

''I'm prepared for the stick for this idea and people jump at me when I suggest it, but people have been keen to talk to us," he added. Mr Finnegan can be contacted on 07950 786081.