THE wife of rock legend Paul Weller has accused a local man of selling a limited edition Record Store Day release on ebay.

The former Jam frontman has pulled out of the annual promotion after Mrs Weller's claims that Chris Bamber, whose father Steve runs Townsend Records, was selling copies of his special seven inch vinyl single ‘Brand New Toy’ on eBay.

But Steve Bamber yesterday claimed it was nothing to do with his son but gave no further explanation.

Weller’s wife Hannah accused Chris of trying to sell copies of the 500 only limited-edition disc on the site for profit.

According to the organisers of Record Store Day (RSD), the event aims to boost independent record stores, but shops sign a code of conduct stating they will not sell any products on-line until Saturday April 26.

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Any store found to be complicit in unauthorised sales on eBay faces being banned from future events.

The ebay account, which has been seen by the Lancashire Telegraph, lists the an address for Chris Bamber and an e-mail and telephone number linked to Townsend Records. However it is not an official Townsend Records site.

Yesterday Steve Bamber, whose company has four shops in Lancashire - Great Harwood, Clitheroe, Chorley and Leyland, said: “All I can say is that this matter is under investigation.

“There is a lot of wrong information out there on Twitter.

“It’s nothing to do with him. I can’t say anything more.”

Saturday saw the seventh celebration of Record Store Day when 240 local stores, including Townsend Records’ four outlets, opened their doors with more than 600 exclusive vinyl releases distributed at random for sale from shops on that day only.

Artists involved included one-time Style Council leader Paul Weller, One Direction, and David Bowie. The day aims to bring the public into small independent record stores.

On Saturday Mrs Weller saw that some of the 500 copies of her husband’s exclusive single were being sold on E-bay by ‘touts’ for profit.

She wrote: “I think it's outrageous that so many touts have snapped up copies of Paul's RSD single, taking them away from genuine fans.”

She then highlights the the eBay ‘Homerrocksuk’ site, which uses the phone number of Townsend’s Chorley shop and the email ‘chris@townsend-records.co.uk’.

The site, seen by the Lancashire Telegraph, advertised a ‘Mega rare record store day release. Paul Weller brand new toys,’ which sold at 5.15pm on Saturday, April 19 for £23.65.

She then posted on Twitter an exchange about the touting of her husband’s record.

Yesterday Mr Weller posted on his website: “Apart from making the record, the rest has very little to do with me but I am disheartened by the whole thing and unfortunately I won't be taking part in Record Store Day again.

“It's such a shame because as you know I am a big supporter of independent record stores but the greedy touts making a fast buck off genuine fans is disgusting and goes against the whole philosophy of RSD.”

A Record Store Day statement issued last night said: “We share Paul Weller's frustration at evidence that 'Brand New Toy' has been offered for sale on eBay, and we are disappointed that despite our best efforts to drive out the touts, once again some people are seeking to exploit the goodwill of artists and labels by selling RSD exclusives at vastly-inflated prices on eBay.

“At just 500 copies Paul Weller’s ‘Brand New Toys’ was one of the most limited editions available on RSD and so some re-selling was expected.

“However, thanks to the measures we have taken on re-sales, overall the number of complaints about unauthorised sales this year is well down on previous years, though we continue to monitor eBay on an hour-by-hour basis.

“We clearly cannot control the activities of members of the public, but the Record Store Day Code of Conduct makes it clear that any store found to be complicit in unauthorised sales on eBay faces being banned from future events.”

Chris Bamber was yesterday unavailable for comment.