I promised Bournemouth Big Issue vendor Paul that I’d write about how hard it is to sell the magazine.

I didn’t need persuading, as the experience will stay with me for a very long time.

The familiar sights of the town centre become less friendly when you wear the Big Issue jacket. In an instant you become a marked man, or in Paul’s words “a pariah”.

For the uninitiated, the Big Issue gives homeless people the opportunity to earn a legitimate income. They do this by selling a weekly magazine, which vendors buy for 85p and sell to the public for £1.70, keeping 85p for themselves.

To celebrate the 19th anniversary of the business, I joined the local homeless community by becoming a Big Issue vendor for a few hours.

Also taking part were Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood and Radio Solent presenter Nadine Dukeson.

After a brief induction, we were given a bright red jacket, magazines and a buddy to help us on the streets. Then it was off to the assigned selling pitches, which are spread throughout the town centre.

I’d been given a spot by a rubbish bin at the foot of Richmond Hill. My buddy Paul was also in two minds about my appearance as a Big Issue vendor.

“You don’t look homeless in those clothes, but your baby-face should win over the grannies,” says Paul.

With confidence running high, we started work and asked every passer-by if they’d like to buy a copy of the Big Issue. Most politely declined and Paul made sure I always thanked and bid them good day.

“Always be friendly. That person may think about it and buy one from you later, tomorrow or next week.” Then something strange happened. I thought it was my imagination, but people were definitely going out of their way to avoid me.

The longer we went without a sale, the more frustrating it was being ignored and unacknowledged. Two Daily Echo work colleagues even walked past and didn’t recognise me.

Still it could be worse. Someone had thrown a sandwich in the face of MP Tobias Ellwood at his pitch outside Debenhams.

We’d been given panic alarms earlier and you have to take the danger seriously. Only last year, Big Issue seller Ralph Millward was beaten to death in Westbourne.

Despite it being Bournemouth on a Friday afternoon. I soon got my own taste of hostility, when a man approached us and aggressively listed his reasons for not buying the magazine.

Being a Big Issue vendor makes you vulnerable. It’s hard work and having sold only three copies, we walked back disillusioned to the Big Issue office on Poole Hill.

Paul wasn’t sure how long he could go on selling the Big Issue. After all, he was selling the magazine out of necessity and not as part of an experiment.