A WOMAN whose family ran a Kidderminster market stall for 73 years says Wyre Forest District Council's lack of support has forced her to shut up shop in the town.

Thirty-one-year-old Julie Francis took over the running of New Crown Bakery's Kidderminster market stall 10 years ago and said it had become a "way of life" to her.

However, she said the council's lack of support for the indoor market, which opens two days a week, and a lack of customers, meant it was no longer viable to run the stall.

So she is returning to work at the family bakery at Callow Hill, Rock, which sells products to wholesalers and has a stall on Blackheath Market in Dudley.

Mrs Francis, of Hales Park, Bewdley, part of the third generation of her family to work on the Kidderminster market, said she was speaking on behalf of all market traders when she said the council had "let them down". She said the health of the market had suffered since it moved to Worcester Street from its town centre location 30 years ago to make room for Marks and Spencer and it should be returned there when M and S moved to Weavers Wharf.

However, head of the district council's cultural, leisure and commercial services, Andrew Dickens, said the indoor market could not be moved to a town centre location because stallholders said they were unwilling to open more than two days a week when they were surveyed two years ago.

He admitted the health of the indoor market was suffering - with only 25 per cent of spaces being used - but said it was a national trend.

However, Mrs Francis added: "The market has been run down so much that there are only about 15 stores left and there should be 100 all under the same roof.

"We feel as though we've been let down by the council because they've not generated more business for the market.

"For the past two years they have been saying there would be changes and there would be space in the new development and nothing has come to light."

Mr Dickens said all the town centre premises available for let required tenants to open for at least five or six days a week.