Trader must move after 20 years

The Jaspers say they are shocked after 20 years at the same pitch

A Cornishman who has been selling plants from the same pitch for 20 years has been ticketed by new civil parking enforcement officers.

Fernley Jasper, 81, has been ticketed for illegal parking in a loading bay at Southgate Arch in Launceston.

He complained to parking authority Cornwall County Council which has cancelled the tickets.

But it said it was only a temporary reprieve and Mr Jasper and his son Terry would have to move.

Mr Jasper, who has a nursery at Polyphant, is at Southgate Arch every Tuesday morning.

Terry said: "The traffic warden came along last Tuesday and issued us with a ticket, two for each vehicle, a total of £140.

"After all the years of trading here without any problems it came as a shock.

"We're only trying to earn a living."

It's absolutely disgusting John Wakeham

John Wakeham, a local auctioneer and friend of the Jaspers, said: "I'm incensed by it.

"He's the last reminder of the old Launceston market days.

"If you rob the town of its rural activity and characters, what will be left? Nothing."

He added: "It's absolutely disgusting, people coming from Truro telling us in Launceston what we can do and how we are going to change our ways."

The county council said in a statement that new traffic restrictions in Launceston meant that Mr Jasper was actually now trading from an officially designated and marked out loading and unloading bay.

"However, we will cancel the tickets that were issued to Mr Jasper and his son and we are working to find another location for them to trade from.

"In the meantime we will allow him to use his current location for a limited period."