Trader accused of 'metric breach'

Hackney council said charging a trader was a "last resort"

An east London market trader is being taken to court by the local council accused of breaking metric laws.

Janet Devers, who has a fruit and veg stall at Ridley road Market in Dalston, is accused of not offering customers an alternative to imperial weights.

Hackney council officers seized the 63-year-old's scales saying she failed to follow European Union (EU) rules.

In September, the EU ruled the UK could use imperial measurements, such as pints and pounds, alongside metric.

Mrs Devers, of Wanstead, will appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on Friday.

Hackney Council said she had been charged with 13 offences under the Weights and Measures Act.

Mrs Devers faces 10 counts related to pricing issues, one charge of pricing solely in imperial quantities and two counts of using a machine "not passed as fit for use".