FISH and chips with a dash of vinegar and a sprinkling of salt is one of life’s little treats.

But Tameside Council wants to cut the amount of salt people eat by handing out new chip shop salt shakers — with fewer holes.

Research has suggested slashing the holes from the traditional 17 to five could cut the amount people pour on their food by more than half

And it doesn’t stop there. Staff at chip shops will be told to shake the salt cellars less too.

The move comes after the council launched an investigation into the salt content in food bought from the borough’s takeaways. Going undercover, officers asked for salt and vinegar but let the server decide how much to put on.

In the worst case the amount of salt added by the server was 8.1g, nearly a third over the daily guideline amount of 6g.

The council has commissioned 90 five-hole shakers at a cost of £2.30 each and hope to give them away to each fish and chip shop in the borough along with a poster advertising the scheme.

Environmental health officer Kevin Greenwood said: "We will visit each chip shop and give them one of the new salt shakers for free. If they’re happy we can take the old one away. We don’t want to appear like a nanny state. We simply hope to discourage people eating too much salt."

But he doesn’t think people will just shake the salt cellar for longer.

He added: "Out of habit, we think staff and customers will shake it the same amount of times with wide holes as they would if it had narrow holes."

Wing Lee chip shop in Audenshaw was the first to receive the new-style shakers.

Owner Jean Liu said: "It’s such a simple but effective idea. I don’t like too much salt myself but the amount some customers put on is pretty shocking. I don’t think they realise.  This will really help them cut down."