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Perry Barr: Locked-out market trader cannot access £80k stock

BBC Shaz GrantBBC
Shaz Grant said some traders might be forced to turn to food banks if they could not access their stock to sell it

A stallholder locked out of a market hall for a week has said she cannot access her goods worth more than £80,000.

Shaz Grant runs Golden Touch Caribbean Groceries and Cosmetics at Market Village in Perry Barr, Birmingham.

Traders were given just hours to leave last Friday after the company running the market went out of business.

"There's nobody we can call to get any answers," Ms Grant said.

She added she had not received any updates from the company, Perry Barr Market Properties Limited, which, she said, had gone underground. The BBC has contacted the company for comment.

"It's like going into a cul-de-sac and there's not a way out," Ms Grant explained.

She opened her stall at the market - sited within the One Stop Shopping Centre - more than five years ago.

Outside Market Village
Market Village has been locked since last Friday

Traders were meeting with community campaigner Bishop Desmond Jaddoo on Saturday to help them with the situation, she added.

"There is a light at the end of the tunnel, I will not give up."

One Stop Shopping Centre said it had told traders it was "diligently working to address the situation" and would "provide updates" as soon as more information became available.

Accountants Cowgills said Perry Barr Market Properties Limited was insolvent, "not yet in liquidation", and directors had taken steps "to cease operations to avoid any further losses to creditors".

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