Traders at Wolverhampton’s markets are enjoying a boom as the credit crunch continues to bite. John Scott reports

Wolverhampton market has discovered that every cloud has a silver lining.

An extra 500 people a day are shopping there as families continue to feel the pinch from soaring bills, according to official figures from the city council.

That does not surprise Derek Lewis, aged 43, from Ettingshall, who has worked since he was 13 at the greengrocers stall run by three generations of his family.

“I remember the last recession during the 1990s and exactly the same thing happened then,” he said.

“The tighter money gets, the better our business becomes.

“Customers want value for money and they get fresh local produce at good prices here. I recognise some of the old faces coming back who had been lost to the supermarkets.

“We have our loyal regulars but there are definitely more people about. That is lovely to see but we have got to make sure that we hang onto them.”

Bargains from his stall yesterday included cauliflowers for 40p compared to 69p at Morrisons. Carrots were 18p per pound but cost up to 28p for the same weight in supermarkets.

The family of Gerald Spencer, aged 62, of Whitehurst Lane, Codsall Wood, has been selling seasonal plants from a stall at the market for around 50 years.

He said: “Business is holding its own despite the poor financial conditions and far more people are coming here to shop.

“I first noticed the trend around six months ago.

“I thought that might be explained by members of the Polish community in the area being more used to buying their food at a market. The fact that it has continued could well be down to the credit crunch.”

A typical bargain at his stall is a tray of six orange blotch bedding plants cost £1.80 compared with £2.20-2.90 at garden centres.

Valerie Jeff, from Tettenhall, has worked on an electrical stall at the market for 28 years.

She said: “There has been a small increase in the numbers of shoppers recently and hopefully that trickle will turn into a flood as more people look for bargains. But only time will tell.”

She was selling packets of four AAA or AA Duracell batteries for £1.99 which cost up to £2.99 at stores.

Denise Palmer, a mother-of-two whose family greengrocer stall Palmer and Daughter has been at the market for 45 years, commented: “I have seen some new faces shopping here recently.

“The theory is that a recession will bring more shoppers back to the markets because it offers value for money.”

She was selling English Cox’s apples at 35p per pound or 77p a kilo and three mangoes for £1. Irene Ault, an 84-year-old widow from the Warstones estate, said: “I have been shopping here for 60 years and still come in once or twice every week. You get treated properly and are offered competitive prices.”

Granville Smith, aged 61, and 63-year-old wife Joan from Cornfield, Pendeford, said: “We are always looking at value for money and that becomes more important as the financial situation gets worse.

“I always buy my fruit and veg from the markets and have never been disappointed. It would be even better if the car parking was free.”

Rose Eadie, aged 52, from Parklands Road, East Park, had not been to the markets since last Christmas before making a trip there on Friday.

She said: “Supermarket prices are terribly high and the quality is not always great so I decided to come and start looking for a few bargains.

“You are determined to get value for money with Christmas coming and the credit crunch getting worse.”