FISH stall trader Ken Langley says Wiltshire Council’s decision to ban him from all of its markets stinks.

The 62-year-old from Swindon, who has been working on fish stalls since he was a lad in Grimsby, fell out with the council after he says he was given very little warning of its decision to cancel a market in Melksham because of threatened high winds.

He said it was too late to cancel his order of fresh fish from Devon and so when it arrived in Melksham he still sold it to regular customers, leading to the ban.

He said: “It’s been very upsetting and there is no appeal process. I think the council has been very heavy-handed about it.”

But he was delighted to still be able to trade from his Ken’s Fish van in Devizes on Thursday as its market is now run by the town council there.

He said: “People were really pleased to see me. A lot of people thought I wouldn’t be able to come to Devizes because of the ban by the council.

“I have a lot of loyal customers in Devizes who come to see me every Thursday.

“I have been doing this job since I was just a young lad. I understand about health and safety but the council left it very late to tell me the market was off.

“I have been very loyal to Melksham market for about 12 years and during lockdown I was often the only stall there.”

The problem arose when the council feared Storm Francis would blow into the county on August 25.

He says he was told in the afternoon of the previous day that Melksham market was to be cancelled.

He said: “I told them that my order was already in and if I didn’t sell the fish I would be very out of pocket. It’s been very upsetting and there is no appeal process.”

Mr Langley, who works from a special van, said his vehicle would not be affected by high winds in the same way as an ordinary stall and by the Tuesday the weather was not as bad as predicted.

But he said that he still had plenty of other towns that were willing to welcome him. He said Highworth and other towns on the outskirts of Swindon were not affected by Wiltshire’s decision.

He said: “I have been banned from all Wiltshire markets but it is not the ban that bothers me it is letting my customers down.”

He said he had enjoyed going to Melksham and in 12 years had only missed a handful of market days.

The week after the ban he did return to Melksham and served customers from a private driveway but was warned by the council that this was not allowed and if seen again could be fined up to £1,000.

In a letter to Mr Langley, the authority said: “The market was cancelled for the safety of traders and the public due to high winds forecast. 

"As operator, the council reserves the right to cancel the market at any time and expects traders to comply.”

Devizes town council clerk Simon Fisher said: “Ken has been a regular trader in our market for many years and provided a valuable service for local people. We are aware of his infraction of council rules.”

Wiltshire Council has been approached for comment.