Stallholders have been left upset and disappointed following the sudden closure of Lever Street carboot sale.

A letter was given out last weekend informing sellers that the site would be closing after 30 years.

There are no current plans for the carboot to be moved to another site.

One stallholder, who asked not to be named, revealed the reaction to the closure of the site.

She said: “It’s been long established and everybody is in absolute shock, they couldn’t believe it.

“I was quite upset, these people are like a family, everyone is really friendly.

“They came around and collected the rent early, then at 11am this stallholder came around with the letter.

“One guy was up in arms because he they told him they couldn’t get the rent back.

"They called the police but they couldn’t do anything about it.”

Police did attend the scene, however it was established that no crime had been committed.

The letter states that the landlord decided to close the site after it had fallen into a state of disrepair.

Graham Wilson, who stood down as manager of the carboot in September but remained there on a voluntary basis, revealed that they had problems with rental payments following a shooting nearby last year as well as other issues on the site.

He said: “After the shooting we couldn’t get access to parts of the building and we couldn’t open the whole of it.

“Yet the landlord still wanted the full payment. Sometimes we get shortfalls but he still wants the full rent.

“The roof needs work, there’s loads of debris up there. There’s water leaking down and potholes in the carpark. It’s become an awful place.

“For lots of people this is their livelihood, some of them have been here for 30 years.”

Cringle Corporation, which runs the site, was approached by The Bolton News but declined to comment.