THIS WEEK IN 1987: Pitch move hits sales of hot dogs in Portsmouth city centre

Mr Davis and his wife Sandra had served hot dogs, hamburgers and doughnuts from their van parked in Meadow Street for nearly 12 years.

But the Cascades development meant an end to the couple’s lucrative trade near the bustling Charlotte Street market.

And after just one day on his new pitch in Arundel Street – which cost him £45 a week to rent – Mr Davis was convinced his business could not survive.

‘My wife has stood down there all day and all she has taken is £6 – not even enough to cover the cost of the rolls she bought this morning,’ said a distraught Mr Davis.

‘Normally she would take £60 to £70.’

The couple, who had six children, said they had become an institution in the market with a stream of regular customers.

Mr Davis was angry the council could not find him a sport in Charlotte Street itself.

‘The council said they could not find room for my eight-foot-long-van,’ he added.

He had been offered other sites which he felt were worse than Arundel Street.