By Robson McCallister

Copyright birminghammail

The Midlands’ jacket potato king has urged customers to buy local – and warned ‘big money’ was stepping into the industry. TikTok sensation Spudman, whose real name is Ben Newman, has fans around the world after detailing his Tamworth-based business over the years. He gave a number of reasons why supporting independent traders was important. READ MORE: West Brom footballer to open new ‘high-end’ Birmingham restaurant On social media, Spudman posted: “You lot have been watching me for four or five years now and I have never ever changed my tune on this. “And now, more than ever, it is important. Go and support your local jacket potato man. There is big money stepping into this jacket potato industry and we want to keep it little and local. “We want to keep it your mom and pop’s shops, your family-run businesses, the old boys who have been there for 20 or 30 years. “They are so good. Go and support them. Go and show them your love. They deserve your money. “They can give you far better quality, they can give you far better price and they can give you far better service. Go and support your local spud man.” With the city centre consisting of chains, one independent spud van has fed Birmingham for decades. And the rise of Spudman on social media led to an increase in hungry customers for Mr Bumble’s Jacket Potatoes Speaking to BirminghamLive earlier this year, Leigh Paton revealed: “We get loads of tourists now, particularly since Spudman blew up on TikTok. That’s helped us all. “Everybody came to tell us about him but he visited us in 2022. Ben’s a lovely man and said his van in Tamworth was not doing particularly well so we had a big moan about how shocking trade had been since Covid . “It’s now taken off and fair play to him.”