A Dundee trader says the noise and disruption of a city centre carnival caused him to take ill with a suspected heart attack.
Graham Meade was recovering at home on Tuesday but pleaded with the local authority to stop allowing funfairs on the doorstep of High Street shops.
Mr Meade (60), managing partner of Robertson & Watt, city centre jewellers for over 170 years, said: ”It is no secret that I’m not a fan of carnivals in the city centre and I’m also not that happy about the open-air markets that seem to keep getting permission.
”But the weekend experience was ridiculous and we got no warning of it. The noise from these machines was deafening and it was non-stop. There was this fairground machine outside our shop and it was so loud that you couldn’t hear yourself speak.
”It affected our trade and things got so bad on Sunday afternoon that I closed the shop. No one was coming in and the din was deafening. It also affected my health.”
Mr Meade said that after enduring Friday’s noise, he felt unwell and he took advice to see his doctor for fear that he was suffering a heart attack.
His health scare passed but it returned the next day and on Saturday afternoon he went to the emergency out-of-hours medical service for another check-up.
They advised him he was stressed and should take time off and rest at home, which he is doing this week.
He continued: ”The fair blocked most of the road and there were vans and lorries on the pavement outside my shop endangering pedestrians.”
Mr Meade has formally complained to council chief executive David Dorward.
Fellow trader Allan Braithwaite of the coffee and tea merchants in Castle Street, said: ”I wasn’t aware there was going to be a carnival. The first I knew about it was when I opened up on Friday and saw all the equipment in place. It was noisy and it didn’t help trade.”
A council spokesman said: ”Similar events have been held in the city centre several times over the past decade and have been enjoyed by the Dundee public.
”Local businesses were visited by council staff and the carnival operator to discuss operational issues.”