A trader says he'll continue selling fish in imperial measures despite the landmark conviction of a fellow "metric martyr".

Peter Ellis, director of Network Seafoods in Quarry Road, Newhaven, openly flouts European laws which say prices must be displayed in metric units.

He says he will not be deterred by the conviction of Steven Thoburn yesterday for two charges of breaking weights and measures legislation by selling fruit in pounds and ounces.

The Sunderland greengrocer faces a fine of up to £1,000 on both counts and estimated court costs of £60,000.

Mr Ellis, 54, said: "It is outrageous that this should have occurred to an Englishman in his own country and get a criminal conviction."

Mr Ellis said he would carry on selling fish in pounds and ounces, saying: "We are expecting an army of trading standards officers here in the not so distant future.

"Customers want to buy in imperial. They do not understand and do not want to understand the metric system. They are British people born and bred.

"This case was a great shame and we hope that it will now go to a higher court. This case was never about a bunch of bananas, it is about whether we are still a democratic nation and whether we have our own laws. I do not think the British people will be very happy about this at all."

Mr Ellis has been advised by East Sussex trading standards that he is breaking the law and knows he could be fined or even jailed if the matter goes to court.

Thoburn was prosecuted by Sunderland City Council trading standards team for using imperial-only scales in breach of the 1985 Weights and Measures Act.

The act was amended to bring it into line with Europe's 1994 Units of Measurement Regulation, which became effective on January 1.

The case is likely to decide whether European legislation takes precedence over British law in the future.

Shops are still allowed to display imperial measures alongside metric ones, but the metric system must be presented in larger type.