THE majority of street peddlers selling goods in Worcester High Street have received their licences from police forces elsewhere in the country.

Street peddlers selling clothing, accessories and other goods in the city centre were granted trading licences from forces elsewhere such as the Metropolitan police in London and Wiltshire Police, with a particularly large number coming from forces in the north east.

It is not known why that is the case because it is no more expensive to buy a street peddler’s licence here than it is elsewhere and West Mercia Police say they do not have a high rejection rate.

Peddlers are people who sell from place-to-place and they are allowed to trade anywhere, provided that they keep moving and do not stay in the same spot for more than a few minutes.

However, they are only allowed to do that once they have a licence from the police.

These licences are not the same as street trading licences which are issued by the local authority, in this case Worcester City Council.

Unlike those licences, they are issued by police authorities and, once obtained, peddlers can operate anywhere across the country.

At a licensing committee meeting Martin Gillies, the city council’s environmental health manager, said: “For some reason the most street trading certificates in Worcester seem to be issued by Northumberland Constabulary.”

Anybody who wants to obtain a street peddler’s licence from West Mercia Constabulary must have lived in the area for at least one month and has to pay £12.25 for the year.

Speaking after the meeting Peter Rabinovidch, who was selling scarfs and pashminas in Worcester, said he had paid £12 for his annual licence at Harringay Police Station in north London before moving to the city.

“It was cheaper than most police stations to get it from,” he said.

Another street peddler selling hats, who did not wish to be named, said they also paid £12 for their licence, although that was at a police station in Wiltshire.