A bright red Nazi flag was up for sale at a car boot market in Wimbledon Stadium at the weekend.

The large red flag, emblazoned with a black swastika, was spotted among the bric-a-brac by Tooting resident Renata Albuquerque in the Plough Lane stadium on Sunday, February 12.

Ms Albuquerque, 50, of Derinton Road, said she and her husband Simon were shocked to see the Nazi memorabilia proudly displayed on a stall, and confronted the seller.

Wandsworth Times:

The car boot sale is held in the Plough Lane stadium

She said: “We asked him what he thought he was doing. He was quite defiant. He was saying ‘it’s my property, I’m the legal owner of this and I can sell it if I want to’.

“My husband said he should burn it, not sell it, but he said everything was for sale.

“We have been to the car boot sale there lots of times, and we have never seen anything like that. We were so surprised.”

She described the seller as a young man, in his late 20s or early 30s, with an eastern European accent.

The car boot market is run by organisers Sherman and Waterman, and company director Jane Waterman said she challenged the seller straightaway when Ms Albuquerque made her aware of the contents of his stall.

Mrs Waterman said: “I immediately went over there and told him he had to put the flag away. He asked why, and I said it offends me and I want it put away.

“I made him get rid of it, and I stood and watched him do it, and alerted our staff so they could keep an eye on him and make sure it didn’t reappear.

“This was just a one-off thing, we don’t normally get that kind of trade. He didn’t have anything else like that, things that I would call ‘uncomfortable’.”

Mrs Waterman confirmed the man was not asked to leave the premises, but added: “My husband is Jewish. I’m not going to condone that sort of thing.

"As soon as I heard there was a Nazi flag I went straight over there. We wouldn’t allow that.”

Although Ms Albuquerque commended the staff on their quick action on the day, she said her and husband believe the seller should be banned.

She added: “We really need to stop them, to stop these stupid people.

“We were shocked that not many people seemed to be upset about it. That in itself was a bit upsetting.

“There’s so much hatred in the world at the moment, we don’t need any more of it.”

What do you think? Email letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk