STREET pedlars are "living on borrowed time" as a long-awaited crackdown gets under way, it has been claimed.

After years of fielding complaints about the number of pedlars, Bournemouth council plans to join forces with the police to stamp out the problem once and for all.

But the special task force set up to deal with the issue will not be able to hold its initial meeting until September because council officers are currently inundated with licensing applications.

Mark Smith, Bournemouth's head of tourism, pledged: "It's going to be a real tightening up of the rules. Hopefully, it will be the end of the road for anyone exploiting the current situation."

Town centre manager Kevin Moore said that all the pedlars in Bournemouth town centre have pedlar's licences and so are trading legally.

But one of the conditions of their licence is that they must move about when not dealing with customers, and it is this rule that council chiefs believe is being broken.

Town centre manager Kevin Moore said: "The public need to be aware that these guys are not trading in the spirit of the law. People can buy from them if they wish but they will not enjoy the statutory rights you get if you buy from a shop."

Town centre ward councillor David Smith, who has frequently complained about the growth in the number of pedlars, said a crackdown was necessary to ensure Bourne-mouth remained a top-class resort.

"I went down to the Square on Saturday and it was ridiculous - there were up to nine different traders there," he said.

"We have spent a fortune creating a beautiful space which visitors and residents alike enjoy. I am very proud of the work that has been done in recent years and to now allow the space to become a cheap market place is nothing short of criminal."

But Australian Emily Curtis, who has a pedlar's licence and sells henna and glitter body art in the Square, defended her position.

She said: "I think it enhances the town centre. A lot of people like the open-air market atmosphere."

So who's street legal?

The outdoor traders who operate with the full permission of Bournemouth council are the fruit and veg seller, artist Stephen Lees, who sells his work outside Debenhams, the Daily Echo news vendor outside Boots and a flower seller.

The fudge and doughnut stall outside Debenhams pays rent to the department store and is also perfectly legal.

But all other stalls and carts, which sell goods including mobile phone covers, jewellery, scarves and body art, are covered only by a pedlar's licence and should be moving around when not dealing with a customer.

First published: August 17, 2005