MARKET traders in Leigh say their future is in doubt as they are struggling to survive because Wigan Council is not doing enough to help them.

Leigh Indoor Market, traders said they are in "dire straits" and one says he would be surprised if the market lasted more than six months.

The traders spoke out at a meeting organised by the council which has introduced a new electronic process for collecting rents.

The market is £65,000 in arrears. Under the new system traders will be invoiced every four weeks instead of paying their rent weekly at the market cash office.

But the traders hit out claiming the council does not advertise or maintain the market and that the traffic caused by roadworks for the guided bus way has dramatically reduced the amount of shoppers at the market.

Kathryn Holt, secretary for the traders and owner of Kathryn's Cafe said: "We don't get any help from the council what so ever. The whole place is a mess.

"It feels like they want it to close down. We need the market advertised to attract the younger generation."

Despite complaints to the Council traders say that their takings are down by as much as 30 per cent and many of them are finding that they are trading to pay their rent — not to make profit, which has caused some to be in arrears.

The new payment system has left them confused and disheartened and they claim it will leave more traders in arrears because there is not the footfall at the market.

Rob Oxton-Grant, Income and Payments Manager for Wigan Council said: "We want to support and help people and keep them trading and we will work with people to do that and keep their businesses viable. We don't want to see the market closed.

"We introduced this system in Wigan Market in 2013 and now the arrears are a third of what they used to be.

"It is not fair trade for some traders to be paying their rent and some always being in arrears, they are getting an unfair trading advantage."

But traders have complained that their situation is only going to get worse once the guided bus way is complete and the new payment system will create even more empty stalls, of which there are already six.

Wendy Gibbons, who runs a fashion accessory and hair extension stall said:" We have never recovered from the road works. People are stuck in so much traffic they are not even able to get here.

"A few people I know said that they are not coming back to Leigh because of how bad the traffic is and they were regular customers. We are struggling. For most of us this is a long tradition, market trading is in our blood. We are like a little family. I would rather the stall next to me be in arrears than it be empty because that is what is going to happen, we are going to lose even more stalls and how is that going to look?

"We need to start seeing where our money is going and we need advertising.

"At Christmas we had one A4 black and white sign advertising the market, yet we have been told we have a £16,000 marketing budget. We need to see where this money is being spent."

Michael Matthews, Town Centre Manager for Wigan and Leigh at Wigan Council said: "We are all fully supportive of the market.

"Markets are what make towns different because they have things that the main stream shops don't.

"We are fully committed to the market and its traders and we will put in an action plan that manages the faults that have been brought to my attention.

"The market will be fully filled soon with no empty stalls."