As a boy, Anton Jaskiewicz dreamed of working for himself. Friends and teachers mocked his ambitions but he didn't care.
On finishing school, the enterprising teenager set up his own market stall. More than four decades on, Anton remains a familiar face around Tommyfield Market in Oldham, where he runs The Battery Shop.
In a lifetime working on markets, he has seen plenty - although it hasn't all been plain sailing. In recent months, dwindling footfall has seen the 61-year-old slip behind on his rent payments to Oldham Council, which runs the market.
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Anton has raised his prices to try and come up with the money he owes, but it has made little difference. "I've been trying to pay," he explained.
"I'm not being awkward. There's just no footfall anymore. This is all I have ever done since I left school. It's the only thing I ever wanted to do."
Anton's current rent bill stands at £750 per month - a sum he had no trouble mustering up back in the market's heyday. His financial position has become so perilous that he recently considered shutting his stall for good.
"The past two or three years, it's been hard to make a living," he explained. "The rent before was even dearer than now but it was busy then."
Anton is not alone in his struggle to stay afloat as soaring costs, changing shopping habits and the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic create the perfect storm of challenges for market traders.
The cost of living crisis has also forced customers to cut back, making it even tougher for stallholders to balance the books. The pressure has already proved too much for some, who have decided to leave Tommyfield Market in recent months, Anton says.
In an attempt to help the dozens of remaining market traders, Oldham Council this week announced plans to slash rent bills in half. The town hall said it had taken the decision ahead of the market’s relocation to the Spindles Town Square Shopping Centre.
When the Manchester Evening News visited Tommyfield Market on Wednesday, the cheaper rents were welcomed by everyone we spoke to. That included Anton, who described the move as 'absolutely fantastic'.
"It makes a huge difference," he said, visibly gushing. "I really do appreciate and think it will save a lot of people. I've had to put my prices up but I'll probably reduce them now."
While Anton will benefit from the lower rents, he cannot help but wonder why it has taken so long to implement a measure he and other traders have long been asking for.
"If they did it earlier then this market would probably be full," he surmised.
"In the past few months, a lot of stalls have left. I wish they did this earlier but it's better late than never.
"The future looks great now though. When we move to The Spindles, I'm hoping they keep the rent similar."
Over on R4 Pets, Mags Heap feels that the announcement has come too late.
"It's a good thing but it should've been done sooner," said the 56-year-old, who has worked on Oldham's market since the age of 12.
"They've not really been helpful with us. Everywhere has got worse since Covid.
"Shops like Home Bargains and B&M are killing us and we need cheaper parking. Why would you go to the market and pay when you can go to Tesco and it's free?"
Traders say they have been told the market will be relocated to The Spindles, which the council purchased two years ago for £9.5m, in 2024. The new space will boast a food court, as well as a dedicated retail market linked to the shopping mall.
However, the move has been hit by uncertainty after a mine shaft was found underneath the former TJ Hughes unit, where the new market is due to be created. While the discovery has 'changed the approach' to the demolition of the unit, the council says 'the risks are being managed and the overall programme remains on track'.
The current market hall, which was built in the early 1990s after the original Victoria Market hall burnt down, is to be demolished and replaced with housing and a new 5.7 acre town centre park. Many traders argued that the money would have been better spent refurbishing the existing market site, although they believe the move is inevitable.
Imran Saleem runs Taylor Produce, a fruit and veg stall on the indoor market, and is cautiously optimistic about the move to The Spindles.
"It could make or break the market," he said. "It depends on how they execute it.
"The council need to give us a fair opportunity. There needs to be rent-free periods and they need to give us a chance to promote ourselves.
"If we get the funding from the council and a reduction in rent, it gives the tenants a better chance of investing that money, not only to survive but to invest in the business to make it better."
Each day, Mr Saleem wakes up at 4am to hand pick his produce before heading to the market. It's gruelling work but such routines have been a way of life for generations of market traders. The rise of online shopping and supermarkets has made it much harder for small business owners like Mr Saleem, but he appears to relish the challenge.
He works with local farmers to offer up a wide range of produce that customers would struggle to find in their nearest Tesco or Asda.
"We have to diversify and do things that the supermarkets don't do," he explained. "We put our own personal touch on it."
Mr Saleem manages stalls at markets across Greater Manchester and hopes Oldham Council's decision to reduce rents at Tommyfield Market will eventually be replicated elsewhere.
"We've been through a tough patch with Covid and businesses are not the same as before," he said. "Footfall is less and we are paying more money for things.
"We're up against it in many ways. We need the reduction because the cost of living is so high. Our electricity bills are going up.
"If they reduce the rents that gives us a better chance to keep our prices fair and keep the customers coming in. If it wasn't for these rent reductions, there would be a massive question mark over whether we could survive.
"It should have come years ago, but by the same token, I'm glad it has finally come. You would rather have 100pc of a market hall at half rent than 20 or 30pc capacity and charging everyone full rent.
"It's a false economy. We have to look at the picture of where markets are going. They can make it busy, keep people coming back and it might revive the markets again."
Before now, traders claimed the council did little to help them. Some remain angry over having to pay full rent during the pandemic, despite being unable to operate for months.
In March, the council introduced free parking at the market after 3pm on weekdays. However, stallholders say they have not noticed any improvement while ongoing building work on nearby Albion Street has been branded 'a disaster' for trade.
"The trade is dying with all the work going on outside," said Lumsden Fotheringham, who runs Hyde's Newsagents. "All the customers are elderly and they don't want to walk down when it's like this."
Mr Fotheringham took on the newsagents - reported to be one of the oldest in the North West - earlier this year after its previous owner retired. He currently pays about £600 a month in rent and says the reduced bill of £300 will ease the pressure on his business.
"It's a weight off my shoulders," he said. "It makes me feel a lot better. Footfall is at least 30pc down on what it was when I arrived. Most of the places are closing down one by one.
"Since I have been here, about four have gone. It's the sad state of the world. All the costs are going up. It's just killing us."
Elaine and Ian Rothwell run Best Wishes Card Stall in the indoor market and described the rent reduction as 'the best thing that's ever happened'.
"It's brilliant," Ian explained. "We were running on empty. It's going to help stalls to stay here and move over there (The Spindles). It's too late for some stalls, they have gone.
"Nobody really wanted to move in the first place. We wanted them to refurbish this.
"We have loads of elderly people who like shopping here. They come in every day for a chat. It's like a little hub for them. The council think it's going to be a success so we are hoping they are right."
Oldham Council leader Coun Amanda Chadderton said: “As a council we made the decision to reduce rents by 50 percent to help with the cost-of-living pressures our traders are currently facing.
“However, it is unfair to say we haven’t supported them in the past. Along with the current rent reduction, there hasn’t been an actual rent increase in over a decade.
"With the current reduction applied, our market trader rents are currently half what they were in 2010. We are also subsidising storage, utilities and parking cost and have radio and marketing campaigns in place to support the market.
“Residents can also take advantage of free weekday parking after 3pm and 3 hours free parking at weekends.
“In the past 6 months we’ve welcomed five new traders and witnessed four changes of ownership, whilst there have only been three closures.
“I do recognise that elements of our redevelopment works may cause temporary disruption to some businesses but we’re working hard to mitigate these.
“Tommyfield market is an integral part of Oldham’s heritage, which is why we’re putting them at the heart of our future redevelopment plans. Both I and the entire council remain to committed to ensuring the markets ongoing success”.
Read more of today's top stories here.
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