A petition launched to support a potato seller who was told he cannot return to his usual pitch has attracted more than 60,000 signatures in two days.
Ben Newman, also known as Spudman, has been credited with bringing more visitors to Tamworth, Staffordshire, due to his four million TikTok followers.
He recently posted he was due to be forced off his town centre pitch at St Editha’s Square in order for a new flowerbed to be created.
Tamworth Borough Council said once regeneration work had been completed, street vendors would be welcomed back and Spudman would be “just a few metres” from his original spot.
However, Mr Newman said the new pitch he was being offered was not suitable as it would block views of the church.
“People are going to complain. It’s a beautiful spot, people take pictures, and we’re going to be right in the middle of that – we just want our [usual] pitch,” he said.
His normal location was the only feasible site for a shipping container, he said, which he had ordered when the council previously told him he would be returning there.
Mr Newman added he had now received offers to trade in other towns and cities.
“The only loyalty I’ve got to Tamworth now is not the assets of my business, it’s the customers and the people of Tamworth that I’ve served for years,” he said.
“I want to stay here because of them, not because of the council.”
In a statement, council leader Carol Dean said: “We very much value small local businesses in Tamworth. One such local business is the much-loved Spudman.”
She added: “With a new layout for St Editha’s Square, there are some minor changes for some traders, one being Spudman, who, as before, is being offered space next to the monument, with a pitch just a few metres from the original spot.”
She said the redevelopment of St Editha’s Square – which includes the new town centre college campus – would bring hundreds of people into the town daily.
Spudman was awarded the freedom of the borough last year, in recognition of his entrepreneurship, innovation and courage in the face of adversity.
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