Spudman is saved! Beloved TikTok chef forces busybody council into a U-turn after 100,000 people sign petition to stop him being 'evicted'

The TikTok sensation best known to his fans as Spudman has been allowed to remain on his pitch after being threatened with moving by a busybody council. Ben Newman, 40, who sells £5 jacket potatoes from his trailer in Tamworth, Staffordshire, has gained 4million followers on TikTok with his creative fillings.

But earlier this month, Tamworth Borough Council informed the potato expert they  wanted to remove him from his spot in the town centre to plant flowerbeds. More than 113,000 fans signed a petition in less than two weeks putting pressure on the council to allow him to remain - and the petition has now forced the council into a U-turn.

Tamworth Borough Council announced today that Spudman will be allowed to return to his usual spot - but only after refurbishment works at St Editha's Square in the town are complete at the end of May. The popular figure, who has been selling baked potatoes with various toppings to locals for 20 years, was inundated with support after it was revealed he might have to move.

Commenting on the victory, Ben told his supporters on Change.org: 'Thank you very much, and mission accomplished! We got our pitch back, and it's all down to you lot signing the petition, so thank you very very much!'. In today's announcement, Tamworth Borough Council leader Carol Dean acknowledged the depth of public feeling and pledged to improve consultation with local businesses and residents in the future.

TikTok chef Ben Newman, 41,  known as Spudman has revealed he has now been allowed to stay on his pitch after previously being told he would have to shut up shop. She said: 'We've heard the clear and passionate voice of our community about plans for St Editha's Square. The overwhelming response has demonstrated how deeply our residents and visitors care about our town centre and its traders.

'This decision means that Ben Newman, known to many as "Spud Man", will be able to return to their original trading location. We value the contribution of all our local traders who bring character and vitality to our town centre, and very much look forward to traders once again back on the square when the works are complete. Work is continuing as planned, and we anticipate reopening the area at the end of May, as originally scheduled.'.

Earlier this month, the jacket potato connoisseur posted a TikTok video discussing a meeting planned several hours later with the council. Speaking in the clip, Ben, who juggles his business with raising nine children while also undergoing dialysis, said: 'So it's past two in the morning, and I got after up about half an hour ago, and I can't get back to sleep.

'So I thought I'd pull my thoughts out into the camera for a minute. Got this big meeting with the council tomorrow, [I will have to] sit there with a load of suits and defend my business. 'It's nuts that [it] has even got to this point that we've had to do all this just to keep our pitch, keep our contract and keep the shipping container going on there that we were promised by the previous council.'.

While many people are supporting the vendor and TikTok star, he revealed that he has received 'a fair bit of hate online' and been accused of 'kicking my toys out of pram for no reason'. It's my livelihood. It's what feeds my children, keeps a roof over their head and stuff like that. Lot of people also said just, you know, up and go somewhere else. I don't want to.

The business owner sells £5 jacket potatoes from his trailer in Tamworth, Staffordshire, has gained 4million followers on TikTok - where he shares clips about his business. But earlier this month, Tamworth Borough Council informed the potato expert they wanted to remove him from his spot in the town centre to plant flowerbeds.

More than 113,000 fans signed a petition in less than two weeks, supporting the father-of-nine and the public pressure has forced a U-turn form the council. Tamworth Borough Council announced that Spudman will be allowed to return to his usual spot after refurbishment works at St Editha's Square in the town are complete at the end of May.

'I love Tamworth. I love the people of Tamworth, and I want to be on our pitch for a long time to come and doing nice things for the people. 'So I'm going to go into that meeting tomorrow, and I'm not going to take anything less than what we've asked for, because I don't think I'm being unfair.

In a video posted on Facebook last week, Ben admitted he was 'frustrated' with the situation and was struggling to come to terms with the councils' plans. 'I have lost my pitch to a flowerbed. A flowerbed is more important than me,' he said. 'I feel so destroyed by this. The amount we've done and that's what I get - a flower bed on my pitch.'.

Ben said that while the council had offered him other places to go, his current pitch is 'where I have built my business and that's where everyone knows I am'. He added that 'a thousand other towns' would love the footfall they bring. The star chef also revealed when he bought the pitch back in 2003 for £100,000, it was sold to him as a transferable asset - meaning it could be passed on to his son or sold it on.