A local man was fined £150 after being caught not smoking in a smoking area. It’s believed to be the first fine of its kind.

Dorian Spam, 32, was caught without a cigarette in his mouth in a flagrant violation of the smoking area policies.

“The rules are clear. The smoking area is for smokers only. The only thing that Mr Spam was trying to spark up was a conversation – a violation of the rules. You can smoke and cough in the smoking area and nothing more.

“Some will say the fine is harsh but we have to be fair. The penalty is in line with the fine smokers receive when they get caught smoking in a non-smoking area,” said the officer who made the collar.

Mr Spam admits that he wasn’t smoking, although he claims it was only because he was out of cigarettes.

In a sentence we won’t explain to our American readers, he said: “I was just trying to bum a fag.”