Market traders who refuse to move to metric measurements could escape prosecution under guidelines being drawn up by the Government, it has emerged.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills said it was updating advice to councils to ensure that action against so-called metric martyrs was "proportionate, consistent and in the public and consumer's interest".

It follows the case of Janet Devers, an east London trader found guilty earlier this month of using imperial weighing scales without an official stamp in a prosecution brought by Hackney council.

Under legislation that came into force on January 2000, all goods sold loose by weight are required to be sold in grams and kilograms.

Traders can still display weights in imperial but a conversion must also be given.

But the rules have led to a succession of metric martyrs - traders unwilling to bend to the EU legislation.

According to a report in a national newspaper, Innovations Secretary John Denham will introduce new guidelines "within months" preventing local authorities from taking traders to court.

A spokesperson for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills said: "While individual enforcement decisions are rightly a matter for Trading Standards, we are keen to encourage action that is proportionate, consistent and in the public and consumer's interest, which is why the National Weights and Measures Laboratory, which is responsible for overseeing the legislation in this area, is updating guidance with local authority bodies for trading standards officers.

"In addition, we are reviewing the current legislative framework with a view to making it easier for everyone to understand, business to comply with and trading standards officers to enforce."

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