AN Oxford street trader is maintaining a family tradition after taking over the business from his father.

John Irvin works seven days a week for 11 months of the year on his stall at the junction of Queen Street and St Ebbe’s in the city centre.

Last year, the 26-year-old’s father, John senior, decided to stop selling cards and take a back seat in the business he founded in 1982.

His son, who is running the stall alone while his sister Natasha, 24, recovers from a broken leg, said: “My mum went into labour with me when she worked here, so this is my life. I’ve never done anything else.”

He added: “Of all the shops along Queen Street, Marks & Spencer is the only one left since we began. Every single other shop has changed hands.

“The stall’s changed too. It’s all tourist stuff now. We used to do cards and we would have regular customers who would come and buy from us every week. We were the cheapest place in town for cards.

“We would sell them for 80p each, but now there’s all the High Street chains like Clintons and Hallmark.

“We’ve had a lot of complaints about us not selling cards any more, because some of the old ladies can’t afford £2 or £3 a card.”

Mr Irvin, who travels to the city from Stokenchurch each day and closes the stall every January for a month-long family holiday, said Oxford City Council had put the squeeze on the family’s business, but trade was still holding up.

He said “A few years ago the rent went up by 50 per cent and now they’ve reduced the size of our stall by 50 per cent.

“It’s like they want to force us out.

“But we’re into our third generation now. My four-year-old son came down and did his first Saturday sitting by me recently, so we’re still going strong. We have four good, solid months from Easter, once the tourist season kicks in, and we’ve got a great location.

“The teachers will often arrange to meet their groups at Bonn Square, so the tourists will see our stall and come over.”

He added: “To be honest we probably sell more London stuff than Oxford. I suppose most of the tourists are on a day trip from London and they pick things up here – it’s strange but that’s how it works.”