It is shortly after 4am in central London and a fleet of white transit vans is pulling into parking bays. Porters bent double against the driving rain are rattling supermarket trolleys to and fro across the cobbles,

The City of London Corporation has shelved plans to relocate Smithfield and Billingsgate fish markets to a £1 billion development in Dagenham.

Smithfield Market, located near St Paul’s Cathedral, has been trading for over 800 years. However, the City of London Corporation announced on Tuesday that the council voted to cease operations. Billingsgate Fish Market will also meet the same fate.