Big Issue seller given wooden shelter to stay dry

Nick Cuthbert and Bracken the labrador are familiar faces in Truro

A Big Issue seller who has become one of Truro's best-known characters has been given his own wooden kiosk in the Cornish city's Christmas market.

Nick Cuthbert, who has been selling the weekly magazine for 18 years, has set up shop on Lemon Quay with his companion Bracken the labrador.

The Big Issue is sold by vendors facing homelessness, experiencing poverty, or who have recently become unemployed. For every £4 magazine Mr Cuthbert sells, he keeps half of it.

The Christmas edition of the magazine features an article about Mr Cuthbert and Bracken.

Big Issue seller Nick Cuthbert in his Christmas kiosk

It has been a tough 2024 for Mr Cuthbert after his previous dog Bryony died in February.

When he got a black labrador rescue puppy in July, he ran a competition for the public to choose her name - and they chose Bracken.

Mr Cuthbert said he was very grateful to have his own shelter at the market.

"It's brilliant, it will keep me out of the rain and winds," he said.

"I come out in whatever weather, normally I would just get really wet and blown away."

Jeremy Moss said Mr Cuthbert was "a fixture and fitting" of Truro Christmas Market

It is the second time the Christmas market in Truro has featured the sturdy wooden shelters.

Mr Cuthbert's cabin was funded by the market's organisers and built by a local garden furniture business.

Jeremy Moss, from the firm, said all the traders were delighted with the move, adding: "Nick is a fixture and fitting on the quay, he's there more than they are.

"The quay without Nick would be a different place."