WINCHESTER civic bosses have ordered a trader to stop selling legal highs, write Andrew Napier and Ali Kefford.

The city council has warned Barbara Cooper that she will be evicted from her place in the Antiques Market at Kings Walk if she sells the drugs.

The case came to light when a Winchester man was charged with handling stolen goods, legal highs worth £34,725, allegedly stolen from Ms Cooper’s stall, Sunflowers, earlier this year.

But a hearing at Winchester Crown Court heard that that the CPS had decided to drop the case because of lack of evidence against Krzysctof Rozmyslowicz, 34, of Hyde Gate, Hyde.

Ms Cooper expressed her disappointment that the prosecution would be going no further.

“It’s not about the money. I am disappointed in the way the system works,” she said.

The 69-year-old said that the stock that had been taken when the Antiques Market was burgled in January had cost her between £8,000-£10,000 to buy.

She added that she no longer sold legal highs at her stall because of a restriction under her tenancy with Winchester City Council.

The council owns the building which is due to be demolished as part of the Silver Hill redevelopment.

A council spokesman said: “As soon as the city council became aware of the situation, a senior officer spoke to the manager and got an undertaking from them that they would not continue to sell so-called legal highs.

“Were they found to be selling such products in the future, the council would terminate the tenancy.”

A Home Office report into legal highs is due to be published shortly.

Last month the Angelus charity carried out a survey of university freshers that found 19 per cent had tried a legal high – a potential total of more than 350,000 students.