The following is taken from the Daily Telegraph, dated April 14th, 2001:
City forced to give way over metric road sign.
A COUNCIL has been forced to take down a road sign after motorists complained that it used metres instead, of yards.
Devon county council replaced the Give Way sign in Exeter after realising that it broke the law. The new sign reads "50 yards" instead of "50 metres".
Roger Kendall, 29, who noticed the sign as he drove to his stall in St George's market, said. "I have been forced to change over to metric at my fabric stall. "It is strange that a council down here, should be breaking the law while the council up in Sunderland have been prosecuting a market trader for setting goods by the pound."
This week, Stephen Thoburn, 36, was found guilty of refusing to sell goods in metric measurements in a test case brought by Sunderland city council. Vivian Linacre, director of the British Weights and Measures Association, said: "Signs in metres are becoming more and more common, and it is up to the public to complain to local authorities because they are spending taxpayers' money on, signs which are illegal."
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