Man fined for smoking in his own van

A painter and decorator was left fuming after being slapped with a £30 fine for smoking behind the wheel of his van because it was his place of work.

Gordon Williams, who hails from Wolverhampton, was driving to a shop to buy teabags after work when he was spotted with a cigarette by a council official and pulled over.

He was given an on-the-spot £30 fine because smoking laws introduced last July ban people lighting up behind the wheel of work vehicles.

But the self-employed 58-year-old, who now lives in Aberystwyth, Wales, claimed that the van was insured for private use only, so he should have been allowed to smoke inside it if he wanted to. He said: "I was told that because my van is my place of work I had broken the smoking laws. I was dumbfounded. The van is only insured for private use and to get me to and from work.

"It's not my place of work; I decorate houses not vans."

He was driving on the A487 near his home in his unmarked blue Suzuki van when he was stopped and his 16-year-old passenger who had been helping him at work was also smoking a cigarette.

Mr Williams believed it could be the first ticket of its kind handed out by Ceredigion Council since the smoking regulations came into force last year, as the fixed penalty notice was numbered 0001.

Simon Clark, director of smoking rights group Forest, said: "This smacks of jobsworth council officials interpreting the law to the most extreme level. This surely is not what the change in the law was intended for - it was not meant to harass and persecute people going about their ordinary lives. It is ridiculous that somebody should be fined for smoking in their own private vehicle away from any workplace."

His wife Sue has already paid the fine because it would have doubled if not paid by a certain date but Mr Williams now plans to appeal.

Mr Williams said he respected people's choice not to smoke but felt he should be allowed to in his own van.

Ceredigion Council would not comment but said there were few exemptions to the smoking ban.

Regulations state a vehicle must be smoke-free if used for work by more than one person regardless of whether they were in it at the same time.