A GROUP of Vale residents have recently formed the Vale of Glamorgan for Europe campaign group as part of the wider national Wales for Europe campaign.

Together with other groups and organisations across the UK, the pro EU group are campaigning for a ‘People’s Vote’ on the final Brexit deal.

The group argue that the ongoing Brexit negotiations show that the issue is "far more complex and costly" than was initially presented and the final deal should be subjected to a vote by the electorate.

The group held an Action Day last Saturday with street stalls in Penarth and Cowbridge offering people an opportunity to discuss the issue and find out more about the campaign.

Sally Stephenson, who started the group together with Penarth resident Anthony Slaughter and is the owner of two independent shops on Cowbridge High Street, said: "Many businesses and individuals in Cowbridge are extremely concerned about the way the Brexit negotiations are going.

"We were promised that if we left the European Union we would have exactly the same benefits as before and that it wouldn’t cost us a penny to leave, however it is becoming clearer by the day that that is not going to be the case - we will be worse off and it will cost billions of pounds."

The group says that businesses in the Vale are already struggling because of Brexit.

Co-founder of Vale of Glamorgan for Europe, Anthony Slaughter said: "Many businesses in the Vale are already struggling because of Brexit - costs have risen dramatically due to the crash in the value of the pound following the EU referendum, and sales are falling as people have less money to spend.

"If the government insists on taking the UK out of the Single Market and Customs Union, it will increase costs so much that many valuable local businesses will simply not be able to survive and they will go bust. This will create more empty shops on our high streets and many people will lose their jobs.

"We set up Vale of Glamorgan for Europe to highlight all these issues and campaign for a People’s Vote on the final deal. The public should have a say on if the version of Brexit which the government is negotiating is really what they want.”