Council apologises to 'Spudman' as Tamworth potato seller's town centre pitch in limbo

A potato seller in Tamworth has received an apology from the council after he was told he would be moved off his town centre pitch to make way for a new flowerbed.

'Spudman' has become a fixture of the local community and he regularly amuses four million followers on the social media site TikTok and over a million followers on Facebook.

At a meeting with Tamworth Borough Council Spudman, whose real name is Ben Newman, was told he might still have to move to a different pitch in the town.

Tamworth Council Chief Executive, Stephen Gabriel, apologised for how the situation had been handled but did not confirm whether Spudman would be able to return to his original pitch.

The businessman has traded in St Editha's Square in Tamworth for 22 years.

He was informed by the council last year that he would be temporarily moved from his spot - but now he feels that move could become more permanent.

Tamworth Council says it needs the original pitch back so it can do regeneration work in the area.

Spudman has been offered a new pitch in the town centre by the council but he says he fears the new spot will be bad for his business and will block views of the church.

Nearly 90,000 people have signed a petition for his pitch to be reinstated.

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"We acknowledge that we could have communicated better"

Stephen Gabriel, Chief Executive for Tamworth Borough Council, said: "We met with Ben Newman (Spudman) this morning to address his concerns.

"Our discussion was positive and constructive, and we are currently looking into any previous contractual arrangements, we will continue to keep these discussions open.

"We acknowledge that we could have communicated better with our street traders, and for this we apologised.

"We are committed to improving our engagement in the future, particularly our efforts to make St Editha's Square a welcoming public space.

"We are eager to collaborate with all traders and businesses and will be reaching out more in the upcoming weeks."

Ben bought the pitch for £100,000 and has been selling potatoes from his van since 2003.

He says his original site is the only suitable location for a shipping container that he has already ordered and plans to use to expand his business.

As well as entertaining his millions of followers online, Spudman has also raised thousands of pounds for kidney charities which is a cause close to his heart due to his own health issues.

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