Sam Smith's host sacked for smoking

A pub manager has been sacked after a licensing officer spotted him smoking in the bar area of his pub after the premises had closed.

Brewer Sam Smith's dismissed licensee Paul Brown for "gross misconduct" after discovering he had been fined £50 for breaching smoking regulations. Brown, who ran the Brown Cow in York, claimed he did not realise the ban still applied if the pub was shut.

The Tadcaster-based family brewer has now changed the locks on the door leading to first-floor living quarters barring Brown and his wife, Carol, access from inside the pub. In a bizarre turn of events the company has paid for scaffolding to be erected at the rear of the pub allowing the Browns to enter the flat via temporary stairs through a first-floor window.

The brewery has now ordered the couple to vacate the premises and set a deadline of 5pm yesterday (4 March) to leave.

The Browns have run the Brown Cow for the past two years. They say they have increased takings from £600 to £2,500 per week. The brewery has told the Browns that smoking in a public place is "irresponsible and a serious breach of management conduct".

It also criticised the manager for failing to inform the company about his fine, saying he had a duty to disclose details of the incident.

A York council spokesperson said smoking legislation applied to workplaces 24 hours a day, regardless of whether the premises are open at the time.