"COD help us" is the cry issuing from the lips of fish fanciers all over the country as one of the nation's culinary institutions looks set to become a rare dish.

Cod fans may have to eat other varieties of fish as European Union fisheries ministers in Brussels make the biggest cuts in North Sea cod quotas ever seen in order to save the fish from extinction.

Many fish and chip shops already import their cod as it is less available in the UK than haddock. But with swingeing cuts in haddock quotas also on the cards, what will the average family be eating in place of its favourite Friday night treat?

Mal Jackson, who never took a day off sick in his entire 36-year career with North Yorkshire Ambulance Service, is a firm fan of fish and chips and regularly scours the region's coastal resorts in search of the perfect plateful.

He said: "I like cod and haddock and it would be a shame if there was no access to fish.

"I suppose I'd just have to stick with the chips."

Meanwhile, Bar Fisheries, in Lawrence Street, York, could hold the key to a cod-alternative with a difference.

Owner Mick Pericleous has fried sausage, beefburgers and luncheon meat on the menu, but his speciality is fried Mars bars at the request of the student contingent of his clientele.

The other option is Scotland. Providing you are a true fried food fan - and would therefore be prepared to brave the nine-hour train journey - a feast of fried fare guaranteed to clog up even the healthiest arteries would greet you at the other end.

Scot and Lifestyle Editor of the Evening Press, Maxine Gordon, listed some of the things she has seen served with chips in the fast food restaurants of her homeland.

"Mars Bars, king-size pizzas, steak-and-kidney pies, white pudding, black pudding, practically any part of a chicken, bananas, ice-cream and, of course, haggis," she said with a lick of her lips.

But before you tuck in, bear in mind Scotland is also the heart disease capital of the Western world with its own newly-appointed "fat tsar" to tackle the problem.