BEDALE Town Council's decision to place a temporary ban on the fruit and veg stall at the car boot sale is unfair and ill considered (D&S Times, June 12). The stall on the car boot sale has been trading in Bedale for considerably longer than the eight months the new fruit shop owner has been here. Surely any change to takings on the days the car boot was on would have been highlighted in the accounts inspected prior to buying the business, and the price would have been negotiated accordingly.

Does the council intend putting a ban on the supermarkets and Carricks market stall all of which, I would suggest, sell more fruit and veg than this shop? Have they all complained about the competition which exists only on sunny Saturday mornings?

To say the undercutting of prices is in contravention of trading regulations is surely a red herring. Which regulations say you have to sell bananas at fixed prices?

Is the council also going to ban the plant stalls to appease the local nurseries, the burger van and cake stalls if the restaurants don't like them and the ladies selling their unworn clothes because the boutiques are losing money?

I am all in favour of supporting local businesses but not by imposing unfair restrictions on people who shop owners, without any evidence, apparently, “fear will undercut” them. The car boot sale brings hundreds of visitors to Bedale who also shop in town. I hope the council is not going to start making decisions which will lessen the attraction to those people.

Judi Asquith, Aiskew, Bedale.