TOWN hall bosses are standing by the decision to charge a Darwen snack seller £40 a week to have plastic chairs and tables outside his cafe.

Blackburn with Darwen Council chiefs are sticking by the decision, even though 1,100 signed a petition in support of Mr Hindle.

Mr Hindle, who has traded from a mobile snack van for the last 20 years, has been locked in talks with the council for 12 months in a bid to solve the problem. But Andy Kay, regeneration chairman, has revealed there will be no special exceptions for Mr Hindle.

Darwen councillor Fred Slater, said: "It seems strange that a businessman shows a bit of initiative and provides a service which the people of Darwen want and we charge him for it. It seems to me we should be supporting this man."

Coun Andy Kay said: "We are not singling out Mr Hindle for special treatment. This was a difficult decision to make because there was no way we could keep everybody happy. A reasonable compromise has been made and I don't see how we could have done much more in this situation."

Mr Hindle, who collected the 1,100 signatures in just three days was at the regeneration committee meeting. He said: "I have been providing a service that the people of Darwen clearly wanted. I am disappointed with the decision."

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