As traditional to the British diet as fish and chips or steak and kidney pudding, peas are thought to have been part on our plates since the Norman conquest.

But now a Brighton restaurant has sparked a culinary row by calling for the humble green vegetable to be banned from its menu.

Anthony Hudson, manager of Harvester pub The Black Lion, in London Road, Patcham, is sick of throwing away platefuls of peas left by diners at his restaurant and now he wants them off the menu - permanently.

The Harvester chain courted controversy by announcing it was considering taking peas off its menu and set up a special hotline for customers to express their views.

Mr Hudson fully backs a ban and insists peas have been on their way out for years.

Disgusting He said: "Personally I don't like the taste. I think they are disgusting. I can remember throwing them around when I was a kid. They are like prawn cocktails or black forest gateau - they are a thing of the past."

The restaurant was binning more peas than it was selling, he revealed.

"They are difficult to eat because you have to mash them against something to get a forkful. It is like eating a pomegranate - all that effort for hardly anything."

Harvester is urging people to call its pea hotline on 0121 3552640 and say if they want the pea saved or scrapped.

Not all the diners in the the Black Lion agreed with Mr Hudson's anti-pea stance.

Cafe owner Sue Bishop, from Hassocks, said: "I absolutely love peas - they taste sweet and are delicious. I think they are still popular with everyone apart from teenagers. I lived on peas for a whole year and I still haven't gone off them."