COUNCIL chiefs have threatened legal action over a rugby club's market.
Kirklees says it will take legal action to protect its market rights if the Batley Bulldogs rugby league club hold any future markets that clash with traditional town centre markets.
The move follows a big fundraising market by the club last weekend.
Clr John Smithson, the council's deputy leader and Cabinet member for regeneration, said: "Batley Bulldogs operated a market last week without a licence and in the full knowledge they were breaching the council's market rights.
"We are always prepared to discuss matters with relevant people at the club.
"But I want to make it perfectly clear that this market is totally unacceptable.
"We have being trying, jointly with Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd, to come up with some form of effective help for Batley Bulldogs.
"Behaviour of this nature by the club is not helpful.
"If a court ruling is the only way we can make that message very clear then that is the course we will take.
"Indeed, we are taking it, in the absence of a commitment by the club to cease its unauthorised and unacceptable market," added Clr Smithson.
No-one from the Bulldogs was available to comment.
