THE defiant so-called 'metric martyr' traders, who risk £2,000 fines or even jail for refusing to sell their goods in continental metres, kilograms and so forth - as, from last Saturday, the law now says they must - instead of in our old imperial measures of feet, inches and ounces, may be bloody-minded sorts, but they deserve our support.

For while the law's the law and all that, it is a bad an iniquitous one that these opponents of prescriptive and purported progress are battling against.

For they are not merely stick-in-the-muds resentful at changes that ditch centuries of British tradition and culture, and yet again at the edict of the EU - though this, in my book, is a good enough reason alone for telling Brussels how many centimetres up their jumpers they can shove these rules.

Rather, it is the fact that the people risking these stiff financial penalties and even their freedom are being far more democratic in resisting the law than is our government which has pledged its determination to uphold it.

This is simply because the vast majority of shoppers - 72 per cent, according to a recent survey - do not want the confusing metric measures and prefer to keep the traditional system.

Furthermore, what sort of free country is it that is actually prepared to throw in jail a shopkeeper who would uphold that freedom of choice on behalf of his or her customers?

I would not be so brave personally to put myself behind bars for this cause, but I look forward to the day when the first such martyr ends up there - as the reaction the government will receive from the British people when its tolerance is tried this way will be one that tells it quite sharpish who is boss.

And just let them dare try it with working chap's pint down at the pub.

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