Viv Allinson said she felt imprisoned by a 12-year lease on her King Street business.

"The current, very changed retail climate makes this feel like a jail sentence," she said.

Ms Allinson, who owns Vivi, desperately wants to move to smaller premises in town.

"I could operate from any modest location in the town, even a shed or a warehouse," she said.

Her comments came as she sought permission - yet again - to turn her shop into a restaurant.

In a letter to Macclesfield Borough Council Ms Allinson claimed her overheads were currently £32,000 a year.

"To cover those I would have to make £1,000 a day," she said. "That's impossible because I have some days when I only take £50."

Next month planners will discuss proposals to allow Ms Allinson's fashion shop, which has been on the market for nearly two years, to be converted into a restaurant or coffee bar.

So far the outspoken trader, who once told browsers they weren't welcome in her shop, has spent more than £6,000 on her fight for a restaurant.

She claimed only restauraters could afford to pay Knutsford's high rent and rates.

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