appeared on my database... Nat
----------------- 2002 CanWest Interactive, a division of CanWest Global Communications Corp. All Rights Reserved Montreal Gazette March 5, 2002 Tuesday Final Edition SECTION: News; Pg. C18 LENGTH: 482 words HEADLINE: The metric marauders: Gang swoops to change road signs SOURCE: London Daily Telegraph BYLINE: DANIEL FOGGO DATELINE: LONDON BODY: First came the metric martyrs: now meet the metric marauders. Hard-line opponents of the "Europeanisation" of Britain are roaming the country secretly removing metric road signs and replacing them with markings in imperial measures. More than 1,000 signs showing distances or heights in metres or kilometres have disappeared after raids by undercover activists in counties from Lancashire in the northwest of England to Kent in the southeast. The raiders then put up new signs giving the same information in inches, feet and miles. The tactic was devised by a group calling itself Active Resistance to Metrication after British courts refused to back the stand of the so-called "metric martyrs" - a group of shopkeepers who were prosecuted for selling food by the pound. Disguised in Yellow Those behind Arm believe that "direct action" is needed in order to stem the encroachment of metrication. The self-styled "metric marauders" disguise themselves as council workers with yellow fluorescent jackets and conceal their identities. Tony Bennett, who is ARM's secretary, said that metric road signs were illegal. "Things have gone far enough with the encroachment of European values and this is our way of making a point," he said. "The Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994 clearly states that all road signs must be shown in imperial measurements, except those indicating bridge heights and road widths, which can additionally show metric figures. "Many local authorities are either ignorant of the law or deliberately flouting it by putting up signs which show only metric increments and we have taken it upon ourselves to put them straight. "We write to the relevant councils but while some are apologetic and correct the signs, others are intransigent. So we have decided to take direct action." Pier Hit The members of ARM have become so proficient that on several occasions they have managed to alter more than 100 signs in a single swoop. Last weekend they carried out a daylight raid on the seafront at Hastings, East Sussex, on England's south coast, where 130 signs give distances to the pier and other attractions in metric figures. The marauders changed the figures to imperial by glueing on metal plates with fluorescent figures. One of the team said: "We make sure the imperial signs are every bit as professional as the ones they replace so that they are still providing a service to the public. We are not anti-metric but rather we just want the right to choose." A spokesman for the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions said: "Government rules mean that any distance sign must be shown only in imperial, while dimension signs must also be shown in imperial but can also be shown in metric. "Taking traffic signs is unlawful. People should speak to their local authority if they are unhappy about a sign."
