Steve Thoburn, a fruit and vegetable trader who was nicknamed the " Metric Martyr " after he was prosecuted for selling his wares in pounds and ounces, has died, a fellow campaigner said. Neil Herron said Mr. Thoburn, 39, died Sunday at his home in Sunderland in northeast England of a suspected heart attack after suffering chest pains. Mr. Thoburn became a household name after his scales were seized from his market stall in 2001 by Trading Standards officers who caught him selling bananas exclusively by the pound. European Union rules that were adopted by the British Parliament allow fruit and vegetables to be labeled in both metric and imperial measures, but require that the produce be sold in grams and kilograms only. Mr. Thoburn was found guilty of breaching the Weights and Measures Act and given a conditional six-month discharge. The finding triggered a legal battle in which Mr. Thoburn was joined by four other British traders. Their appeals against the conviction supported by the civil rights group Liberty were rejected by House of Lords, Britain ' s highest court, and, in February, by the European Court of Human Rights.
The greengrocers ' two-year legal tussle won much support among the British public, particularly the older generation still largely unfamiliar with the metric system. The British Weights and Measures Association said that Mr. Thoburn should be regarded as a national hero. " (Our) campaign to repeal compulsory metrication is now dedicated to his memory, " the association said in a statement. " For his sake, we must succeed. It is damnable that he dies a criminal owing to these totalitarian regulations. " Mr. Thoburn is survived by his wife Leigh, 30, and three children Rhys, 13, Georgia, 7 and Jay, 2. Published in the San Diego Union-Tribune on 3/30/2004. (volunteer submission)