MARKET traders are devastated after learning they will be turfed out of the revamped Sale shopping centre.

The market hall will be axed when the £5 million redevelopment of Six Acre Shopping Centre goes ahead.

Traders claim they were assured improvements to the centre would include a market.

But now they have received the bombshell news that there will not be a market in the redeveloped centre, which is being renamed The Square.

Rajeev Jairath, who has three units at the centre and has been there for 18 years, says: "For the past three years we were led to believe there would be a new market and then on Saturday I received a letter saying that the plans do not include a market.

"To say we are upset is an understatement. We feel terribly let down and bitter. We have been given no warning about this."

Rajeev runs Banash Clothing and has three stalls - for ladieswear, lingerie and menswear. He has been told he will have to leave when his lease expires in April, 2002.

A spokesman for Warner Estate, which owns the 28 year-old centre, says: "Our aim is to ensure the tenant mix is strong, appropriate and proportional to create a vibrant retail environment.

"As with all shopping centres, retailers have to demonstrate what they bring to the tenant mix.

"It is our intention to offer some appropriate space for relocating core traders."