The news this week that the sweet seller on Saxmundham market has been given notice has prompted national debate. After being a market trader there for around 20 years, 68-year-old Kevin Hilliard has been given a termination notice by the council.

Apparently, they want to rebrand the market as something that sells fresh and healthy food. Support for the market has been dwindling for some time and they feel this change in emphasis will revitalise it. Meanwhile, more than a thousand people have signed a petition against the council's move.

I’m all for healthy living but I’m also a firm believer in people having choice, the thing is if they don’t buy sweets from Mr Hilliard, they’ll simply buy them from somewhere else.

We’re much more aware these days about healthy eating but a sweet now and then isn’t going to hurt anyone. It’s a nice treat to have something sweet once in a while. Gosh when I was growing up we had sweets nearly every day, it’s what we spent our pocket money on. I went to Murrayfield Junior school in Ipswich and opposite the school on Nacton Road was a lovely old fashioned sweet shop. It had everything in jars from Sherbet Lemons to Cola Cubes and Gob Stoppers! We’d stop most mornings and buy a quarter of something. Then when it came to lunchtime or playtime we had more sweet stuff on offer at the schools tuck shop.

I’ve even heard of people having sugar sandwiches!

Now I’m not suggesting we go down that route but the thing is we weren’t overweight and do you know why? We walked, ran and played all day every day, we burnt off those calories.

We’d walk or bike to school, spend playtime playing energetic games in the playground and then be out playing again after school, until mum shouted it was time to come in.

We lead such a sedentary lifestyle these days, especially many kids, it’s not their fault it’s society today. Parents are too scared to let their children run free, is the world really a more dangerous place than when we were growing up?

We spend so much time these days looking at our devices rather than going for a brisk walk in the countryside or at the beach, it’s no wonder we’re seeing poor health and obesity in some of our children and grown-ups too. It’s simple if you keep shovelling stuff in your mouth and don’t use up that energy we’re going to put on weight. It’s a big issue for us to grapple with but is shutting a market stall that sells sweets the answer?

So, I feel Mr Hilliard is being singled out here. Will Saxmundham Town Council be taking the same stance with other shops that sell sweets too? I suspect not. He says he’s peeved after all the loyalty he’s given the town and I’m not surprised. The council should be looking after the few traders they have left.

Maybe the council would be better off encouraging people to get out more in the wonderful countryside to get some exercise and burn off the calories.

I urge the council to rethink, not only for the reasons above but also because they are making it harder for this man to earn a living, which today is hard enough as it is without a council shutting down a trader who’s been there 20 years.