A regular Big Issue seller who has been selling the magazine in Enniskillen for 16 years has reacted angrily to suggestions some sellers in the town may be involved in criminal activity.

Eamon, is a familiar face on the street of Enniskillen, and his comments come in the wake of a recent theft reported in the 'Fermanagh Herald' where a woman using a cash machine on Townhall Street was distracted "when two foreign ladies came either side of me waving Big Issues in my face". The woman believes these ladies stole £180 of her cash as it came out of the machine.

Eamon has hit out at the image being portrayed of Big Issue sellers. He said: "Sellers should not be begging, that is not allowed. All sellers should be licensed and people who beg can have their licence removed.

"I have a number of very loyal customers who appreciate what I do, and are respectful to me. Recently there have been sellers causing trouble and it makes me really upset."

The editor of the Big Issue magazine, Sean Kavanagh, reiterated Eamon's sentiments: "There are people out there who are just con artists. They are not registered sellers, they are using the magazine, some use newspapers as well, to distract people's attention. Unfortunately the perception is that these are genuine sellers and really they are just using the magazine as a prop.

"It does reflect badly on the genuine sellers who go out in all weathers to sell the magazine to try and make a bit extra money that makes a difference to them."

He explained all sellers are registered, and issued with badges. If a problem is reported it is investigated and the badge can be removed. Mr Kavanagh added however: "There is a limit to what we can do. We do advise people not to buy from people who are not displaying their badge, and if they encounter problems to let is know about it."

The editor also advised people not to actually hand over cash until they have the magazine in their possession. Outlining some of the rules sellers must abide by, Mr Kavanagh explained: "They are not allowed to beg, not allowed to sell at traffic lights, there's is a whole code of conduct which applies. The easiest way to deal with sellers who are acting inappropriately is just to ignore them, don't buy the magazine from them, look for someone with a badge before you buy."