A MASKED robber held up a West Lothian petrol station at gunpoint before fleeing with hundreds of pounds in cash.

The gunman, who was wearing a lavender-coloured balaclava, entered the Deer Park service station in Livingston at around 2am this morning.

Police said he brandished what appeared to be a small handgun before demanding money from a 31-year-old man and 44-year-old woman who were working at the petrol station. He then made off with the cash and was last seen in the town’s Knightsridge area.

A police spokesman said: “The service station is very popular with people late at night and we would urge anyone who may have been there around 2am today to get in touch.

“We know there were some people in the shop a few minutes before the robbery happened and we would be keen to speak to them in case they saw the suspect hanging around outside or noticed anything suspicious.”

The robber is described as white, in his early 20s and between 5ft 6in and 5ft 10ins. He was wearing an olive-green waist-length jacket with a hood, a lavender-coloured balaclava, blue jeans and black shoes.

Anyone with any information about the robbery should call Lothian and Borders Police on 0131-311-3131 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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IT is a battle that has raged for years on the Royal Mile.

The dispute between traders and the council over the use of A-boards has led to simmering tensions, angry words and even an alleged punch-up.

Now city leaders are to launch a new blitz on “hazardous” signs that are larger than the regulation one metre tall and 0.75 metres wide.

Environmental wardens will be authorised to remove any obstructive boards if the owners refuse to take them off the pavement.

And the council has even warned that legal action might be taken against firms who continue to flout the regulations.

The move - which begins on Monday - has angered many High Street shopkeepers, who accuse the council of “trying to hurt” small businesses.

But it has won the backing of Old Town community groups, who say the boards are obstructing the Capital’s most historic street and making it look untidy.

A warning letter has been hand-delivered to businesses by council officials.

In it, Graeme Paget, the area roads manager for the city centre, wrote: “The presence of too many advertising boards obstructs the footway and leads to complaints from members of the public.

“I am grateful to businesses that have already complied with the guidelines, and I trust that those that have not will do so now, so legal action will not be needed.”

A previous blitz in July 2004 saw a council officer allegedly assaulted when visiting the Celtic Craft Centre in Paisley Close, just off the Royal Mile.

After the incident, visits to shops were suspended, and council workers were told to confiscate illegal advertising boards without first visiting the owners.

Thom McCarthy, who owns the Golden gift shop, has an A-board that he said is slightly bigger than regulation.

“It means that we have wasted money on the board,” he said. “Ours cost 140 and I can’t afford to just throw that away.

“If they are going to enforce it on us, they have to enforce it across the city. And they have to deal with the ghost tour signs outside the City Chambers.”

As well as the height and width regulations, businesses must only place a board directly outside the front of their shop, 0.45 metres from the kerb. There must be 1.4 metres of footway that remains clear for pedestrians.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, the city’s environment leader, said the “blitz” was a direct response to Old Town residents’ concerns.

“If a sign is creating a hazard, then the council will work with the business responsible to resolve the issue. If the issue cannot be resolved amicably, then enforcement action will be taken and the sign will be removed.”

Julie Logan, secretary of the Old Town Community Council, said: “The neighbourhood partnership highlighted this at the last meeting and decided it would be good for the council to focus on it.” THE FACTS

The A-board rules traders must adhere to:

Only one A-board is permitted per premises

Board size should not exceed one metre in height and 0.75 metres in width

The A-board must be placed directly outside the front of the business, except on closes off the Royal Mile, who are permitted to put them opposite the entrance to the close

A-boards should be placed on the footway adjacent to the kerb and set back 0.45 metres from the kerb

Alternatively, they can be placed at the back of the footway but at least 1.4 metres of footway must remain clear for pedestrians

If the premises contain an outside table and chairs area, the A-board must be contained within that space.

They should be kept clear of service ducts and access chambers

They must be free-standing and not attached to street furniture

They must not be placed on the footway in darkness or in the event of inclement weather

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For investors in IndyMac Bancorp («www.businessweek.com»), here’s the good news: the mortgage lender handles hardly any subprime loans. Defaults on the risky mortgages have skyrocketed, killing off a few of IndyMac’s rivals. And Bear Stearns reported that its two hedge funds that held subprime mortgage debt were virtually worthless.

The bad news for IndyMac: The subprime crisis is spreading to other kinds of debt.

On Wednesday, IndyMac’s stock fell 5.5% to $27.45. A downgrade by a Lehman Brothers analyst exacerbated worries that have sent the stock falling almost 40% so far this year.

At the top of the list of worries is so-called “Alt-A” mortgages. Subprime loans are taken out by buyers with low credit scores. Buyers who take out Alt-A loans are supposedly less risky, but they submit little documentation to prove it. The loan approval is usually based on a credit score and little else, with no proof of income. There’s a “big spectrum” of quality among the loans, says Standard & Poor’s Equity analyst Stuart Plesser. (S&P, like BusinessWeek, is owned by McGraw-Hill.)

IndyMac, as one of the country’s biggest Alt-A originators, is vulnerable as the defaults rise among these loans. “From a credit quality perspective, it’s a notch above subprime,” says Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Manuel Ramirez (KBW does investment banking with IndyMac). However, “you’ve seen signs of pretty significant credit deterioration,” he says. Delinquencies and defaults are up.

Mortgages are often re-packaged by lenders like IndyMac and sold on secondary markets. There are signs that debt investors are shying away from these risky credit products, sending prices down. That makes it harder for IndyMac to unload its riskier loans.

Lehman Brothers analyst Bruce Harting cited Alt-A problems in his downgrade of IndyMac from overweight to equal weight.

Part of the problem is that no one really knows how bad the loan crisis will get, Plesser says. Experts worry that defaults will increase. “How many people were given mortgages who couldn’t afford the loan?” Ramirez asks.

As important for IndyMac, what’s the value of the homes that serve as collateral for its loans? “Now that you have home prices going down, what they have backing [the loans] isn’t as strong as it once was,” Plesser says.

Despite the worries, IndyMac is in a better position than many rivals. “They’re not going to evaporate in the course of a week or a month,” Ramirez says. That’s because IndyMac, as a thrift, also has access to a large number of bank deposits. That liquidity can help the firm survive rough times, and is “a huge plus in this environment, which is getting a lot choppier,” Ramirez says.

And, in addition to Alt-A loans, IndyMac sells many other products. It’s been a pioneer in reverse mortgages, though it’s now facing more competition on that increasingly popular product.

Also, the disappearance of rivals has helped IndyMac gain market share, Plesser and Ramirez say. “If they survive, they’ll be in an extremely strong position,” Plesser says.

It’s also worth noting that not just the number of competitors, but also the market as a whole, is shrinking. The housing slump means fewer people are applying for mortgages.

Investors should get a better idea of the problems at IndyMac when the company reports its second quarter earnings on July 31.