FRIENDS of a York Big Issue North seller have taken to the streets in a mark of respect.

Peter Toulson sold the magazine outside Marks & Spencer in Parliament Street until his death last year, and his friends Julie and John McGall, who crowdfunded Mr Toulson’s funeral and memorial service, offered to take part in Vendor Week as an opportunity to find out first hand the challenges faced by the magazine’s vendors.

Julie said they were surprised at just how cold the street was when standing in one place, but the reaction had been quite positive during their time in Parliament Street on Thursday.

She said: “We’re not musical, unfortunately, so we’re not using any of Pete’s tricks.

“It’s quite a quiet time of day, but we’re doing okay so far. It could be because people know us from Pete’s memorial the other day.”

Liam Hughes had met Mr Toulson on several occasions, and was given his patch in Parliament Street after his death.

Mr Hughes said said it was clear how well thought of his predecessor was: “For the first two weeks on this patch, I might as well have known him, because hundreds of people were coming up telling me about him. I spent two weeks breaking bad news to people, it was clear how well loved he was.

“I’m quite lucky with a decent patch - previously I’d stand for 45 minutes to an hour in Leeds and not one person would stop. That can be disheartening at times and knock your motivation, so for someone to come out and find out what it’s like is crucial for me.”

Vendor Week is an international event organised by the International Network of Street Papers, and more than two dozen people took to the streets of York, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield Manchester, Scarborough and Hull for Big Issue North this week.

Fay Selvan, from Big Issue North and chairman of INSP, said: “I’d like to thank all of them for their contribution to Vendor Week, and hope that it will be a rewarding experience.”