I'll not jacket in says hot potato seller, 81

He set up Black Country Bakes in Dudley Market Place more than 25 years ago and still sells his oven baked jacket potatoes six days a week, serving lunchtime regulars such as students and shop workers.

The great grandfather decided to start selling potatoes after being made redundant from a fabrication firm in Quarry Bank in 1981.

He spotted an advert in the Express & Star advertising for people who wanted to be their own boss.

The advert was placed by oven manufacturers Pickwicks, in Lichfield, who were selling ovens on trailers for people who wanted to set up on their own.

Mr North, of Crendon Road, Rowley Regis, enjoyed a brief stint of trading in Bingley Hall, in Birmingham, and in West Bromwich before settling in Dudley in May 1982.

"In those days nobody else really sold potatoes, they were still quite unusual," he said.

"I first started trading on the other side of Dudley, but I didn't get much business so I asked the council for a spot in the town centre. When I first started the stall, the potato fillings were mostly cold such as cheese and coleslaw. If they wanted beans, they came straight from the can which I heated on a barbecue next to the oven."

Mr North also used to sell his spuds at fairs and shows all over the UK including Leeds, Manchester and Wales.

These days, Mr North trades from a van with an oven inside it, and says there have been many changes in the town centre over the years.

"When I first set up, there were two roads running through where my van is today," he said.

"Later on it was spilt up with walls and gardens before it was turned into the pedestrianised centre we see today."

Mr North says he has no intention of slowing down or retiring.

He said: "I shall keep going until I fall over. I'm riddled with arthritis, but I like to keep moving.

"My parents lived until they were 93."