| This Saturday (6th August) has seen the return of the street pedlars to Northbrook Street; they congregate on or near the bridge, forcing pedestrians to walk round their displays. They also position themselves outside the entrances to the larger stores like Marks and Spencers and Woolworths.
They operate under a pedlars licence which can be purchased from any police station for a fee of £12.25. They are obliged to conform to the pedlars act of 1871, which is in dire need of reform for the 21st Century.
The 1871 Pedlars Act defines a pedlar as "any hawker, pedlar, petty chapman, tinker, caster of metals, mender of chairs, or any other person who, without any horse or other beast of bearing or drawing burden, travels and trades on foot and goes from town to town or to other men's houses, carrying to sell or exposing for sale any goods, wares, or merchandise, or procuring orders for goods, wares, or merchandise immediately to be delivered, or selling or offering for sale his skill in handicraft".
Once issued, a licence can be used anywhere in the UK, not necessarily confined to the town where it was issued. The number of these pedlars increases as Christmas approaches, obviously taking advantage of the Christmas trade. On one Saturday last December, eighteen pedlars were counted in various locations in Northbrook Street and Bridge Street.
According to the law, pedlars trade as they travel, they can only stop in one place for a maximum of 15minutes and can only sell what they can carry (this does not include the use of a mobile display stand). Thames Valley Police and West Berkshire Council are reluctant to enforce the law even though many of them are operating on a photocopied licence (presumably the original is being used in another town).
Other towns are trying to introduce byelaws to restrict pedlars operations. Bournemouth Council is spending £100,000 as it seeks a private act of parliament which would enable it to set up a town centre exclusion zone. | 
