TRADERS on Burnley Market are outraged at the comments by Daily Mail columnist Lynda Lee-Potter that their goods are frumpy and old fashioned. The 'insults' began when Ms Lee-Potter said that the Queen had been told to "get rid of those granny prints" and added that she thought Her Majesty's out-of-date clothes looked as though they had been bought from Oxfam or Burnley Market. The traders sought legal advice and wrote a letter of complaint to Ms Lee-Potter, who responded by saying that her previous comments would have triggered trips to the market "to buy similar outsize, garish outfits in bulk." Reporter NICOLA MOTT went to find out what all the fuss was about.

MARKET trader Shafia Variyam summed up the general feeling among traders when she said: "Our market has a good choice for people of all ages and I find the comments an insult to myself as well as Burnley people in general.

"She should at least put an apology in as she is messing with people's livelihoods. We put our heart and soul into our work and comments like that will affect business."

After reading the comments about 'outsize, garish outfits,' I expected to see stalls full of clashing colours and second-hand type rubbish.

I wandered round the market once and went back a second time thinking I must have missed them, but, disappointing as it may be to Ms Lee-Potter, I had difficulty tracking down the outfits mentioned.

I was told one stall in particular is known on the market for its quality suits, hats and dresses and though the outfits were not my personal choice, the success of the stall shows that many women disagree.

I hunted high and low on each stall and there was little sign of the 'time-warp frumpy frocks' referred to. Shafia, owner of the Illusions II clothes stall, kindly let me rummage through her stock and instead of the extra large, old-fashioned clothes I had been led to believe I would find, I found myself trying to squeeze into tiny trousers and shunning some of the items because they were a little too daring to wear in the middle of Burnley Market at lunchtime.

I came across the latest fashions, such as cropped trousers and handkerchief tops, in the brightest summer colours and, as much as a surprise to myself as anyone else, I felt quite comfortable walking around in them.

Nearby stall, Shoetree, loaned me a comfy pair of slip- on shoes for the occasion and I was so taken aback by them I went back at the end of the day and bought them.

So maybe it is time Ms Lee-Potter paid another visit to our market and tried out a few items of clothing for herself!

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.