Burger van owners take council to court over school exclusion zone

The owners of five burger vans this week took North Lanarkshire Council to court over its imposition of a 250m exclusion zone around schools, it has been reported.

North Lanarkshire Council introduced the ban in 2014 as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity.

The van owners have challenged the measure at Hamilton Sheriff Court, The Scotsman reports.

Their QC, Scott Blair, is said to have told the court that “everybody has the right to choose what kind of food they want to put into their body, no matter how health or undesirable that food may be”.

One owner said she had operated on an industrial estate for 25 years without complaint and that the nearby school had only been opened in 2006.

North Lancashire Council said it could not comment during the court action.