A TORY spokesman has slammed new Euro rules calling for councils to prosecute shopkeepers selling fruit and veg in pounds and ounces.

David Nuttall, Conservatives Parliamentary spokesman for Ramsbottom, today warned of a new directive being sent to every local authority in the country.

It calls for council officers to initiate new prosecutions of shopkeepers who sell their loose goods, like bananas, in pounds and ounces.

A leaked memo from the Labour-chaired Local Government Association calls on councils to start enforcing metric regulations.

Mr Nuttall condemned the plans: "This opens the door for councils across the country to spend local taxpayers money on investigating and prosecuting vendors who sell in imperial measures.

"People wonder why council tax bills are going through the roof without matching improvements in frontline services.

"One of the reasons is the constant stream of pointless directives and red-tape flowing from Brussels and Whitehall.

"Bury Council is now being instructed by bureaucrats to spend money on prosecuting market traders and greengrocers for the 'crime' of serving goods like bananas in pounds and ounces.

"Local authorities should concentrate on providing services to the public not persecuting honest shopkeepers."