STALLHOLDERS have overstepped the mark by putting goods for sale on a town's war memorial.

Moreton Town Council has taken Tuesday weekly market traders to task for abusing the landmark monument to the fallen.

It is fed-up with pitches spilling over from their designated High Street spot and also ruining flower displays in the walled 'tree gardens'.

Now Doug Cotton, from Grenchurch Markets Ltd, has pledged to control the stalls and help restore the raised tree and flower beds.

In a letter revealed at a town council meeting, he said: "I am grateful for the council's attentions in the matter of the over-zealous approach taken by some stallholders to the display of merchandise – traders have been reminded to restrict their activities to the stopped-up area.

"In a similar vein, traders will also show greater regard for the war memorial area – certainly no disrespect was complicit in these instances."

The town council, which allows the market to trade on its prominent car park in between the A429 Fosseway and shops' service road, had appealed to Mr Cotton to take action.

Clerk Heather Sipthorp said: "There are markers for the market to keep within but they're going over them into the service road.

"They're doing it every week – it's not the market operators but the stallholders.

"It would be very difficult for an emergency vehicle to get through and also we don't own the county highway land.

"The stallholders put all their bags and rubbish on the tree gardens and don't use the covers to protect them.

"They're also putting boxes of stuff on the war memorial which was disrespectful and we've had comments from townspeople."

Town leaders also plan to fork out funds to refurbish the tree gardens and want to ensure they will be protected.

Mr Cotton said the usual picturesque stalls had sprawled to cope with wintry conditions.

"Any market event tends to present a very different picture during prolonged periods of bad weather such as recently experienced – makeshift shelters, gazebos, umbrellas the like – to that colourful and vibrant throng that is associated with traditional marketplaces in the spring sunshine.

"The somewhat cumbersome tree frames were dispensed with at the time of the market's last major re-configuration when the new 'Continental' stalls were introduced – the frames progressively wore out and I deemed their use gave rise to some potential safety questions. In recent times, we've endeavoured to promote all of our market locations as 'social spaces' – not least Moreton – in response to various initiatives from both central and local government."

Mr Cotton said he wanted market visitors and others to enjoy the 'floral enhancements' in the market area and by the horse trough and offered to pay for replanting and upkeep. The council said it would take up his offer.