The country’s most famous jacket potato vendor was stunned to find out the plot he’d been selling from for over two decades had been replaced by a flower bed after new council plans
Ben Newman, also known as Spudman and arguably the nation’s most famous spud seller, has been kicked off his patch in Tamworth after the council revamped the area.
Ben became a viral sensation online with his jacket potato van, amassing millions of views per video, and it brought with it queues of people all day every day wanting a famous potato. He managed to keep the same spot in Staffordshire at St Editha’s Square in Tamworth for 23 years, bringing in customers from all over the world.
But was left stunned when he found out his spot was to be lost to a flower bed as part of the council’s regeneration plans. The vendor, who has over four million followers on TikTok, has revealed he’s been given several offers to relocate to “local big cities”.
According to BirminghamLive, Tamworth Borough Council said once regeneration work had been completed, street vendors would be welcomed back and Spudman would be “just a few metres” from his original spot. The authority was set to meet him today, Tuesday, February 18.
But the viral spud seller isn’t keen on that plan and told BBC Radio Five Live: “They (the council) want to put us right smack bang in front of (St Editha’s) church which I don’t think is going to go down very well in the long run. You want to take pictures of the church and not a big catering van. I know we like putting our face on a few things but I think our original pitch was the best spot for us, that’s where we would like to be.”
He also claimed the council was changing his contract – which he said “did not go down very well”, but has had various offers for a new patch to sell from. Ben explained: “We have had offers, I think a lot of people realise that, with the footfall we bring, we have had offers from a couple of local big cities.
“They (the council) did call me up earlier and we have a meeting in the morning. So fingers crossed we can thrash something out and come to an agreement.” The council has said plans to refurbish the area are designed to create a “more welcoming public space” for people to enjoy, and said they are aware of the “strength of feeling” from the community, and want to meet with Spudmam to “consider the issues raised.”
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