ON May 9, I was in the city centre precinct, it was wet, not many people about, I spotted a street trader selling colourful wooden roses.

While selecting my purchase, along came a Civic Centre official who asked the Polish trader if he had a licence, to which he replied yes.

The official told the trader he had watched him from 10am, it was then 10.40am and said "You are supposed to move around and you haven't moved from this spot since I have been watching you''.

The trader was under the WestQuay canopy. The official added "You are a fire risk.'' I felt ashamed to listen to authority speaking. The small trader was no way a fire risk as he was well over to one side which I pointed out.

What's more of a fire risk is the German market at Christmas with those wooden huts, plus it's a job to get through on foot.

This young lad added a real splash of colour to a dull day.

I understand that the large shops have big overheads, but I expect they started in a small way.

J HAYES, Shirley, Southampton.

Ian Rothwell, city centre manager for Southampton City Council replies: The person in question was not a licensed street trader; they were trading with a pedlar's certificate. Pedlars are allowed to trade in the UK quite lawfully as long as they abide by the Pedlars Act. This person was not abiding by the Act in that they had effectively set up quite a large stall outside the main entrance to WestQuay and had been standing there for at least 40 minutes. The Act states quite clearly that pedlars should trade as they move and case law clearly states that they should not remain stationary for more than a maximum of 20 minutes.

We have no problem with traders that abide with the law; the person in question has been peddling on the streets of Southampton since last October and is fully aware of the rules, and the reasons behind them.

The German Market plans go through several legal and consultative stages to ensure that the final layout does not cause any risk.