Prince Charles has stepped in to save a fish smokery from closure after the family which owned it were told to close down by a town council which received one single complaint about the smell of kippers.

Walter Purkis and Sons has survived for more than 130 years - despite being bombed in the Blitz - but was told to shut up shop by Haringey council following a complaint from a resident in a nearby apartment block in Crouch End, North London.

The Purkis family were informed last month the smokehouse was in breach of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Clean Air Act 1993.

However, the Prince of Wales, a strong supporter of traditional and organic foods, has stepped in to help the owner of the business, John Purkis, whose family has been in the fish business for generations.

Last week a female member of the Prince's staff came to see the Purkis family and asked for details about what had happened.

Mrs Purkis told the Daily Mail: "A woman came into the shop and told my son John that she was representing Prince Charles. Apparently, the Prince had read about what happened and had asked her to look into it."