They claimed that when white boxes were painted on the ground to allocate a space to every seller, they were left out.

A recent legal notice, it was said, seems to have restricted the area, which previously used to be occupied by the sellers, to just Triq de la Cruz.

As a result of this reorganisation, the sellers said, 212 were allocated space but they were not.

Some claimed that there are some sellers who are occupying two spaces, as they park their van next to their stall. It was said the local council is trying to get these spaces back.

But when the tradesmen asked for six weeks grace so that they could find somewhere else to put uptheir stalls, the local council refused to accept their plea.

It seem that the sellers will be fined as they set up shop and started selling without the necessary permit yesterday.

The local council could not be reached for its reactions.