I counted eight trading standards officers recently at the Kassam Stadium car boot. Surely they weren't all looking for new replacement yellow jackets?

A better question is — what exactly are they looking for? Well, here is a clue.

You are not allowed to sell knives, guns or swords at a boot sale. Not even cutlery, I was told.

Cigarette lighters must be childproof ones, whatever that means, and definitely not those Chinese types that explode when in sunlight.

No pornography of any description, although I have seen boxes of soft porn magazines under tables, not that I was looking for them, you understand.

No counterfeit DVDs or CDs must be sold and any found will be confiscated and shown to police every other Saturday night at 8pm at the local nick — just kidding!

All this is to safeguard Joe Public from being ripped off.

What about safeguarding the stallholders from Joe Public?

Many complaints were heard from sellers who had been passed foreign coins and counterfeit £20 notes.

Why don't trading standards officers do something about that?

CHRIS BOSWELL Williamson Way Rose Hill Oxford