Swindon Borough Council orders traders to move on

Four market traders have been ordered to move or face legal action.

The Swindon traders were told to leave by 1200 BST. Some of the traders ignored a deadline in March and told council bosses they would not leave.

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said the street traders in the four main shopping streets had been given more than a year's notice to quit.

"They need to seek urgent legal advice over the consequences of ignoring a court order," he said.

Barbara and Biagio Mazzotta who run a donut and an ice cream stand said they would defy the latest order.

Ms Mazzotta said: "I have to it's my business and it's our livelihoods. If we leave we've got nothing else.

"They [the council] aren't talking to us and they won't reason with us. When we try to ring them they never bother getting back to us and this has been going on for months, not just now.

"We will move if we are given another pitch to go to," she added.

Swindon Borough Council says regulations which come into force on Saturday, mean traders can apply to move just outside the main shopping streets.

"[The regulations] are fair and vendors have had the chance to make their case," the council spokesman added.