"There will always be a place to buy fish from in London. It might not be here and it probably won't be called Billingsgate but it will continue." The news that London's oldest fish market is facing permanent closure has shocked and saddened the tenants at Billingsgate Fish Market.

Two of London's oldest markets, Billingsgate Market and Smithfield Market, are facing closure after a move to Dagenham was abandoned

The Smithfield site is particularly historic. Meat has been traded from the same spot since the 14th century. Billingsgate boasts similar antiquity, but its ancient home near London Bridge was closed in 1982 in favour of a larger site in the Docklands.