Cod and haddock are traditionally battered

"But with the demise of sea fishing, there are a lot of fish and chip shops looking for a viable alternative to haddock and cod."

Mr Sale tried a traditional batter mix of water and flour at first, but without success.

"The batter just slipped off in the fryer because trout is an oily fish and it would not stick."

While watching a cookery programme, he noted chef Anthony Worrall Thompson used a light ale batter and decided to try beer instead of water.

We are looking at a campaign to promote trout with chips

Dave Gotto, British Trout Association

"Beer made the batter more sticky, but it took a lot of sampling to find the right beer to complement the flavour of the trout," said Mr Sale.

After going through scores of famous brews and obscure real ales, he stumbled on Black Sheep, from the Masham Brewery.

"We tried about 90 all told and suffered a lot of hangovers.

"You only need a little bit of beer from the bottle for the batter, the rest gets drunk.

'Fresh flavour'

"When I tried Black Sheep I knew I had found the one.

"You could still taste the beer in the light, crisp batter.

"The batter protects the flesh from direct heat and gives it a glorious fresh flavour."

The recipe has been passed to the British Trout Association and it is believed other restaurants are now trying the mix.

Dave Gotto from the association said: "Whether battered trout will become popular in fish and chip shops is debatable.

"But we are looking at a campaign to promote trout with chips."