IT'S been all over the national media, and caused a storm locally, but a reported 'ban' on tat on Blackpool Prom doesn't exist, says a baffled trader.

"Tasteless and offensive items for sale on Blackpool's famous sea front are to be outlawed under a new plan," trumpeted a press release from Staniforth, the Manchester PR agency paid to promote Blackpool Borough Council's Masterplan.

But according to Blackpool Seasonal Traders' Association chairman David Gee, nothing is to be outlawed and the 'new plan' was just one guideline out of 43 in a 'blueprint' document produced by Quality Management Initiative (QMI), a forum of Blackpool Promenade businesses.

Gift shop owner and QMI member Mr Gee doesn't understand why that one guideline was the main subject of Staniforth's press release, although restaurateur and QMI chairman Lawrence James said: "Staniforth are under contract to the New Horizons steering group which is the group of the council that is behind the Masterplan.

"They asked if they could get involved with this and they felt it could achieve national publicity."

But Mr James added that QMI's 'blueprint' to smarten up the whole Prom had been launched this week because Easter was approaching, not to tie in with yesterday's (Wednesday) Government announcements on possible gaming law changes and resort casinos.

According to the press release, lewd inflatables, sex toys, offensive T-shirts, pop-guns, knives, poppers (amyl nitrite liquid) and drug-taking equipment are all listed as 'undesirable' under the blueprint and shop owners will be 'persuaded' to tidy up shop fronts, remove unsightly advertising boards and employ smartly dressed and helpful staff.

Mr Gee argued businesses could lose custom and face bankruptcy as a result, adding: "Not only is there no financial help, there is no help for training for retailers.

"Obviously we want to clean the place up and we realise that some of this stuff is offensive and shouldn't be at the front of the shop, but there's no call for them to be banned.

"Removing plastic bums off a gift shop front is not going to bring another five or ten million visitors to Blackpool.

"I think it's a cheap gimmick to try and gain some sort of brownie points, to make it look like Blackpool Borough Council is actually trying to do things."

But QMI chairman Mr James said the blueprint had come from local businesses wanting to reverse Blackpool's apparent 'slide' and that peer pressure would encourage other businesses to voluntarily adopt the blueprint as a code of practice.

It's hoped such a code could help cut for example the number of incidents involving ball-bearing guns and fake-firearms, and give the Prom a professional appearance by relegating adult and lewd items to the back of shops and away from children.

Cllr Eddie Collett, deputy leader of Blackpool Borough Council, welcomed the blueprint, saying: "This is an initiative by Blackpool Promenade traders themselves, supported by the borough council.

"Inevitably it seems to have concentrated on the plastic bums issue and of the list of things that are deemed to be undesirable those are probably the least of the issues."