Leeds pub fined for allowing smoking

A licensee couple in Leeds have been ordered to pay costs of £750 after being found guilty of allowing smoking in their pub.

Angela and Peter Mills, who run the Omnibus pub on Throstle Road North in Middleton, were charged with allowing customers to smoke on two occasions in January and March this year.

Angela Mills was ordered to pay costs of £500 while Peter Mills faces a costs bill of £250 but a fine of £6,000 was suspended for 12 months.

Both defendants gave evidence on their own behalf and claimed they could not see into the foyer area, where people were smoking.

But they admitted that they had not taken any steps that would allow them to see into the area.

It is the first time a landlord in Leeds has been prosecuted for failing to stop people smoking on their premises.

"The very fact that this is the first prosecution of its kind in Leeds, more than two years after the law came into force, shows that the vast majority of publicans and owners follow the rules and take their responsibilities seriously," said Councillor James Monaghan.

"It's sad that this had to come to court because we will always work with businesses if they have a particular problem with people smoking.

"But if they fail to take steps to stamp it out then we will not hesitate to take action against them."

Peter Mills told Middleton Today​: "I'm totally stunned. The only sense of relief is that I got a conditional discharge, which is the next thing down from them finding you not guilty."