Smoking Figures

visit our website www.thisisswansea.co.uk

Smokers giving up the battle

ALMOST a quarter of all fines handed out to smokers in Wales who flouted the smoking ban last year were in the Swansea and Neath Port Talbot area.

Figures released by the Assembly Labour group show 26 people were given fixed penalty notices in Swansea, and eight in Neath Port Talbot between January and November 2008. A total of 143 prosecutions was brought across Wales. Fines of £50 were handed out to 122 smokers. Another 21 prosecutions were brought against people who refused to pay. Swansea Council said the majority of the fines were given to drivers of work-related vehicles.

Pleased John Hague, cabinet member for the environment, said: “As a local authority, we have worked hard and continue to strive to make people aware of what the ban covers.” Robert Rees, head of housing services and public protection for Neath Port Talbot Council, said they were pleased with the figures. “We continue to find very high levels of compliance. The number of complaints alleging breaches of the law remains low at around two per month.” Bar owners in Swansea said the number of people attempting to smoke indoors had fallen now customers had got used to the ban. Niall Crispin, aged 30, bar manager of the No Sign Bar in Wind Street, said problems were rare. But

SOUTH WALES EVENING POST

MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2009

Starring role for Joseph

FAVOURITE THING Joseph Brill.

A RISING Swansea actor has won a part in The Sound of Music. Joseph Brill will be playing Kurt Von Trapp in the hit show, which is embarking on a sixmonth UK tour with Connie Fisher in the lead role. Twelve-year-old Joseph starred recently

alongside Aled Jones in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. He said: “I’m really looking forward to it — and if it’s anything like Chitty, it will be fantastic.” Joseph is a member of the Stagecoach

Theatre Arts School in Swansea. Stagecoach school principal Luan Davies said she was delighted. “Joseph is a very talented young performer,” she added. “All members of staff and students at Stagecoach Swansea wish him well.”

■ BY RUTH MOSALSKI [email protected]

he added: “We had a problem about three weeks ago with a family who kept smoking inside. When they were told that if they carried on they would have to leave that premises, they started fighting with us.” Catherine Jones, aged 22, bar supervisor of Ice Bar, Wind Street, said there were problems when the ban came in April 2008, but these were now rare.

Opinion page 11 Inspectors visited 22,000 sites across Wales over the past year. Just one building in Anglesey was fined for not showing the correct signs. Val Lloyd, Labour Assembly member for Swansea East, said: “I am delighted the majority of people are abiding by the smoking ban in public places. It seems the public has responded positively and people are respecting the law.” She was still concerned a minority still ignored the ban. A spokesman for Carmarthenshire Council said it had not issued any penalty notices. Philip Davies, head of public protection, said: “The response by people in Carmarthenshire has been excellent. The hard work we put into raising awareness before the smoking ban was introduced seems to have paid off.” Anti-smoking charity Stop Smoking Wales said 12,700 people had contacted it for help in quitting smoking over the past year.

Student used bottle in violent clash at club A DRUNKEN student hit a man on the head with a bottle in a violent incident at a Swansea nightclub. The assault took place at Oceana in The Kingsway, at 1am on November 1, city magistrates heard. The victim, Sion Kan, had been sitting on the floor of the club’s smoking area when he was approached by Richard James. The two knew each other, having been at Olchfa Comprehensive School together. Prosecutor Julie Sullivan said James stood in front of Mr Kan and shouted in his face, referring to an incident earlier in the week. He hit Mr Kan with a bottle to the side of the head, she said. Door staff intervened and James was detained while Mr Kan was

attended to by ambulance staff. James, aged 21, of Myrtle Grove, Sketty, admitted common assault. The court was told he accepted he had hit him but did not accept that he had used a bottle. “He is extremely sorry for what he did,” said his solicitor, John Clayton. “He appreciates how much he has let down his family and jeopardised his future.” Mr Clayton said there had been some provocation arising from verbal abuse on an earlier occasion. In sentencing, the magistrates noted it was a serious incident involving the use of a weapon. They ordered James to do 80 hours of unpaid work for the community and to pay £300 costs.

New store of goodwill A NEW charity shop is to open in Swansea’s Parc Tawe. The YMCA store will be selling furniture and clothes, will all money going towards the Swansea branch of the UK-wide charity.

It will open at 10am on Tuesday, April 21. Organisers are hoping for donations of items to sell, as well as for volunteers to staff the shop. (Can you help? Contact the store on 01792 466915.

17

OPPOSITE NEAR DRAGON HOTEL MCDONALDS

OPEN EVERY DAY