Market traders in Marlborough have spoken out after a stallholder was arrested by police last week on suspicion of racially abusing retained firefighter Ian Dinmamode.

Mr Dinmamode, whose parents originated from Mauritius, had parked by the pet food stall at last Wednesday’s market to collect a bag of food for his dog.

On the other side of the road was a horse rider dressed as a jouster advertising medieval jousting that takes place at Littlecote House.

Witnesses told police that when a Stage Coach service bus tried to squeeze past the horse it scraped the nearside of Mr Dinmamode’s Audi.

When Mr Dinmamode, who previously worked for Barclays and managed its Marlborough branch, went to speak to a stallholder to ask if he had witnessed the accident he claimed he was was racially abused.

Police were called and the stallholder was arrested.

Mr Dinmamode, who now works for Honda at Swindon, declined to comment but a family friend said: “He had parked his car in the High Street on market day last Wednesday to get some dog food when a bus collided with it.

“He contacted his insurance company who asked him to get the names of any witnesses and he was speaking to one stallholder when he was abused.”

Mr Dinmamode who lives in Rabley Wood View, Marlborough, with his wife Becki and baby son could only stand and listen as he was subjected to what the friend called “a tirade of racist abuse”.

Eddy Grandy, who has been running a clothes stall on the market for over 30 years and is the longest running market trader in the town, said he was disgusted by what he had heard.

Mr Grandy, who runs stalls at the Wednesday and Saturday markets and lives in Marlborough, said: “It’s not the sort of thing we have ever had on the Marlborough markets before and we don’t expect it.”

* Andrew Kirkham, 44, of Cheltenham, was arrested in connection with the incident and released on bail pending further inquries. Police said a report is being prepared for the Crown Prosecution Service.