TO traders it might seem like good advertising, but to councillors it was nearly worth an Asbo.

Leigh town councillors are worried one famous shopping street in their patch is becoming so cluttered with signs and shop wares, the pavements are too difficult to walk along for the visually impaired and mothers with prams.

They will now send letters out to traders in Leigh Broadway urging them to stop crowding the pavements.

However, some traders and shoppers feel it is this very thing that gives Leigh its unique character.

Town councillor Jean Rowswell revealed members had even discussed the possibility of giving antisocial behaviour orders to unco-operative traders, but decided it would be a little over the top.

She said: "It started with a greengrocer on the Broadway. No one could get past because he had all his groceries out the front. If somebody was coming along with a pushchair, they had to walk into the road.

"He's gone now, but people still put goods out on the pavement. It makes it difficult for people to get past."

She said the town council had received a number of complaints about the maze of buckets, mops and signs in the street pedestrians had to weave past.

Mrs Rowswell was also concerned about extra clutter from cafes, such as Vie Bar, which now has permission for chairs and tables on the pavement.

Lin Reeve, who owns Rosalind's, in Leigh Broadway, said she did not like to put too much outside her shop because she felt it was rude.

She added: "The previous owner used to have small bins outside and the whole pavement was full of it. It looked like Steptoe's yard!

"We have to have a little bit of stuff outside, just a few things to entice people in. Tesco and the big superstores don't need it because they earn enough anyway, but our rates are so high - £18,000 a year."

Mrs Reeve felt it was not the shops, but the cafes that were the real culprit, with tables and chairs spread out across the pavement so double buggies sometimes could not pass.

However, Georgina Jones, an assistant at Hippo's cafe in the street, said they had never had anyone complain they were in the way.

She said: "I don't think it's a problem.

"People quite like the idea of sitting outside because we have got a sea view.

"It makes it nice for the community. We have little coffee mornings there for pensioners who come along and want to sit outside. For a lot of people, it makes their day sitting out there. It's a social thing."

Resident Lyn Bond, 41, of Grange Road, Leigh, said she believed the chairs and goods in the street gave Leigh its character.

She said: "I really like having the stuff outside. It gives it a village atmosphere."

Southend Council is the highway authority for Leigh and is in charge of what can be placed on pavements.