ICE cream vans could be driven off the streets of Horwich if a controversial bylaw goes ahead.

Council chiefs fear that could be the unintended result of a street trading ban near Bolton Wanderers' new Reebok stadium.

They are worried that the bylaw could become "a sledgehammer to crack a nut."

It would also outlaw fish vans, fruit and veg traders and door to door salesmen in a large part of Horwich.

The council had been asked by Bolton Wanderers to back a trading ban in more than 50 streets near the stadium.

The idea is to protect householders from hot dog sellers and souvenir merchants plaguing what were quiet residential streets.

Management and finance committee councillors were told yesterday that a bylaw would not just be in force on match days.

Councillors have agreed in principle to the trading ban on the roads in the Middlebrook development and these will now be advertised in the press.

But a decision was deferred on the other streets.

Horwich Liberal Democrat Cllr Mrs Barbara Ronson said: "There should be an easier way to protect residents. This is just crackers."

But Labour Cllr Guy Harkin said the residents themselves could have to make the choice.

"If this is the only way to protect residents, then perhaps they would rather have an order banning ice cream vans than having hot dog salesmen outside their front door."

His Labour colleague Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said he feared the ban would give the club a monopoly on sales and the price of hot dogs and other food would go up.

But Mr Peter Stybelski, director of leisure services, said: "We are not just talking about Bolton Wanderers here. This is a high-profile development which will attract national interest.

"I don't think we are really going to do this development a favour if we do not bring in the by law on the Middlebrook development."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.