Bonfire of the EU laws: From crooked cucumbers to powerful vacuum cleaners, the barmy Brussels regulations we can now get rid of, by Amie Gordon.

Despite the fact Britain has voted in favour of leaving the EU, this is still the start of a long process before the country officially untangles from the network of institutions in Brussels.

The barmy regulations include:

1. Ban on curvy bananas and crooked cucumbers. … A 1994 EU regulation specified that bananas must be ‘free from abnormal curvature.’ ... EU rules also governed the shape of many other fruits and vegetables — cucumbers, for example, needed to be almost perfectly straight.

2. Incandescent lightbulbs. … Following the EU’s ban on incandescent light-bulbs, many people were reported to have suffered epileptic fits from the flickering, supposedly eco-friendly fluorescent bulbs.

3. Vacuum cleaners. From September 1, 2014, companies were prohibited from manufacturing or importing any vacuum cleaners above the 1,600-watt limit as part of a drive to reduce domestic electricity use.

4. Drinking water does not prevent dehydration. … EU authorities passed a law which claimed scientists had found no evidence to suggest drinking water stopped dehydration. Manufacturers of bottled water were prohibited from labelling products with claims that would suggest consumption would fight dehydration.

5. ‘Diabetics’ banned from driving. Diabetes UK said that the DVLA did not differentiate between daytime and night-time episodes of hypoglycaemia, meaning that some people with diabetes are losing their driving licence unnecessarily.

6. It is illegal to eat your pet horse.

hat-tip Barry Corke