An ice cream seller who lost his pitch when the ill-fated world food market opened in Hounslow claims the 'fiasco' has cost him his house.
Laurence Vella claims to have been selling cones and lollies from his van in around Hounslow High Street for some 40 years before losing his licence last spring.
The 57-year-old father-of-two was refused permission to take his van to the new market, which opened in April last year at the west end of the high street, by Bell Road.
Mr Vella last Tuesday (February 18) became the latest trader to be refused permission to return to his old patch, in an alleyway between the High Street and ASDA.
Members of Hounslow Council's licensing panel ruled the site was unsuitable because of the £2.75 million High Street regeneration works taking place . They also said his van would obstruct pedestrians and vehicles using the alleyway.
They pointed out he could continue to trade as a travelling salesman and could apply to join the permanent market when it reopens.
But an angry Mr Vella, who was prosecuted by Richmond Council in 2011 for trading without a licence, said the loss of income meant he had been forced to sell his home in Teddington because he could not afford the mortgage.
"The reasons for refusal were ridiculous. How can my van obstruct other vehicles when there are bollards blocking the alleyway?" he said.
"The council's just using any excuse because it's obsessed with this market at Bell Corner, which will never be a success. There were 67 complaints from the public about that market, but there have been none about my van.
"I've been selling ice cream since I was 15 but the council's actions have cost me my livelihood and my home."
An operator for the market at Bell Corner, which was previously run by Saunders Markets, is due to be appointed by July this year, and work to provide traders with access to gas, water and electricity at the site is expected to be finished by October 2014.
