Victory for butcher in battle of pork baps
Saturday 30th January 2010, 10:20AM GMT.
A battling butcher has been told he can keep selling pork butties – after a four-year legal row in which Wolverhampton City Council spent thousands of pounds trying to stop him.
David Price, owner of David Price Butchers in Griffiths Drive, Ashmore Park, was ordered to stop serving the hot snack because bureaucrats said it was not in the terms of his licence. At one point he was told he may need to pay £25,000 to fight the ruling in court.
But the battle of the butties came to a close today after council chiefs gave in to popular demand and officially told Mr Price they would not take further action.
He said: “It’s just a relief it’s all over. I remember the judge saying at a preliminary hearing, a full hearing would cost me £25,000 and I was thinking this is just ridiculous over a pork sandwich but I was determined I wouldn’t step down.
“At one point it felt like they were trying to drive me out of business.”
The saga began in 2006 when a nearby store complained to Wolverhampton Homes that the sandwiches were creating unfair competition to nearby stores.
Wolverhampton Council ordered Mr Price to stop selling them. When he refused he was taken to court. The case had been left in limbo until yesterday when Mr Price’s solicitor was told there would be no further action taken.
“I can’t believe it’s gone on so long,” said Mr Price, who has owned the store for seven years.
Wolverhampton councillor Neil Clarke, said: “It’s a victory for common sense but it should never have gone this far.”
The city council itself was unavailable for comment.
By Colin Drury
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The inevitable curse of the jobsworths again.
This has probably been started by the Council’s Deputy Assistant Pork Sandwich Manager on £100,0000 plus in the Directorate of Council Tax Spongers
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Once again Wolverhampton Council is in the news for all the wrong reasons – this time over pork sandwiches!
Does the Council have anyone working for it that has any commonsense to address it’s spending upon things that REALLY matter?
If it is not making the city centre look attractive for visitors… and I cannot think of any who would come to Wolverhampton anyway, building a fountain that doesn’t work very often or sending wardens out to the West Park to issue tickets to motorists who have parked upon the grass verge whilst celebrating Wolves promotion to the Premier League – the list goes on and on doesn’t it?
Just once in a while it would be extremely pleasant if the Council was to do something about disgusting buildings lying dishevelled everywhere, clean up roadside verges outside the outlying city homes and ensuring the shops which have either closed, are boarded up or are lying empty are put to good use once again – but then who cares?
As long as the Council tax is paid and the Council bigwigs receive their enormously fat pay packets each month, then everything’s going very well – such is life these days!
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thats why i left England to live in Canada… it aint perfect here but they do not have total morons in power here like in wolvo it seems!!!
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From Tividale Expat
Be thankful you can still get HP sauce & UK chocolate – I have to bring it over the border into Ohio and the chocolate is made by Hershey nothing like it was -
Peameal & Poutine on french fries(look it up) I’ll take a bap over them any day.
Stay warm EH
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i like poutine
even though it was invented by a frog ha
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ANTONY J THATS WHY I LEFT WOLVERHAMPTON. TO LIVE IN TURKEY ITS A GREAT LIFE HERE NO BLOODY HASSLE .WHEN YOUR RETIRED THEY WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS WE’VE SO MANY TURKISH FRIENDS.
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Lol Wolverhampton council what a joke nearly has bad as Dudley council!
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Well, all that money to take this hard working member of the community to court…. Sorry, all OUR money!!!
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Again no one available for comment , too many people hiding behind this guise.
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Glad he gets to keep selling the baps- you don’t know how lucky you all are. I now live in Ohio USA I figure his little shop – as far away as it is from me – it still is the closest place I can get a bap !! beats Mickey D’s any day ! good luck – I’ll stop in on my next trip to Dudley even with the exchange rate it is worth it -
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Lets all go and buy one and help him recoup his losses! congratulations and good luck!
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I wonder who it was that was trying to stop this? A non-pork eater…………… Councils need to remember who they work for they are public servants of the people of the borough, these days they are more like little dictators. Give someone a little power and it goes straight to their head.
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In all honesty, I don’t think it would have made any odds whether it was a hot pork bap, or a hot asparagus veggie bap; it’s just something different for the red-tape-makers at the Council to latch onto.
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antony j,Tividale expat,seems you are not enjoying your move abroad as you probably spend most of you evenings in reading the express and star.
all that way to live and read a uk newspaper(sad)
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Well done Wolverhampton Council well done. How much time and money have you spent on this trivial matter blown out of all proportion. Fair play to the shopkeeper. The Council should be awarded a big certificate of Muppetry.
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