Is this taking the P**s or what? Fining a man for smoking in his OWN van?

diamond girl UK

a fine for filling your bin, a fine for smoking in your van, a fine for parking in the wrong place...... a warning for stabbing someone. Things have gone up the spout where sensible politics is concerned. PC gone mad.....

Sophie

I wonder how many assaults were being committed while they spent their time hassling this smoker.

bugaboo

this present government have eroded all the fun out of brit life and left it in a politically correct stifling boring vaccuum..

Final Frontier

That is crazy. What does a "routine police check" entail? That sounds pretty Big Brother, too. Was he speeding or something?

Ian W

It is a sad reflection upon todays society

Gemma

eugh, this scares me...

Smoochy Poochy

The more stuff like this happens the more it confirms for me that emigrating to Australia is the right thing to do, who's coming with?

My dad is a mini cab driver, he owns his own car but he is not allowed to sit in his own drive way and smoke in it, nor is he allowed to sit in the car without wearing his cab drivers I.D without incurring a Â£1000 fine if he is caught, makes me sick.

adrian p

Its pathetic to think that they are prowling around looking for this sort of thing, when there are far more pressing matter to deal with, its as bad as the woman that got fined for putting her Bin out the night before, or the guy that was fined for putting to much rubbish in his bin, think i would have felt like stubbing it out on there eyeball

Croxx

It's called freedom in new labour's utopia!

brian m

we have no freedom any more

Oreo

It's not a company car, it is the "fined man's" own work truck, one he paid for and stills pays for! Both passangers were smoking, so i don't see the harm!
Maybe these people who give out the fines, should deal with more severe problems we have in crime, like knife crime, drug addicts who like mugging yer granny's for there pensions! What the hell is happening to the world! What harm was he causing lightin up a cigarette compared to a someone coming at you with a knife? They should get there priorities in order! I think Gordon Williams, 58, of Llanafan, didnt do anything wrong & i hope they drop the charges for him!

pinkie

This country has sleepwalked into a state of constant surveillance, petty bureaucracy and the stealthy erosion of our basic human rights. How you can be banned from doing something that's not illegal I do not know. We have only ourselves to blame.

Jonny Napalm

If the van is privately owned then it is taking the p**s. If the van is owned by a business (which is likely if the owner wants to claim back tax and VAT etc) then it is considered a place of work and you therefore cannot smoke in it.

Ivor Hugh G.Rection

To be honest I agree with just about everything everyone else has said... I hate the way this country is going

(EDIT : Apart from 'accurate babe')

steven e

lets start an uprising.

Ding dong, I'm Sparticus 2.

Ahhh...New Labour.....trying to turn the Nation's youth Gay and trampling on our rights. I never voted for an insipid police state. Mrs Thatcher must be very pleased. Fancy Blair becoming a Catholic and Prescott claiming he is bulimic......If that's not taking the pee...I don't know what is. Believe the opposite of what they say and you will be better placed to learn the truth.

Medion

It's may have been his work vehicle, but at the time of the offence he was not in a work environment, he was only going to a shop. What next, will it be an offence to talk in a vehicle because it may distract the driver?
The sooner we get rid of this communistic government with their
bully boys, and job-worths the better.

shevek_v

My mate, who is a taxi driver, can lose his job if he is seen smoking in his own vehicle or if someone reports him if they think they can smell cigarette smoke in it. Not 1984 - 2008!

waldo_mcginty

Sleepwalking into a Big Brother society or already in one ?? As the passenger had apparently also lit up presumably he was not concerned about Passive smoking so that should be that.The next thing of course is that people in his position will be hauled off to a re-education centre (you heard it here first).

The smoke-free legislation covers vehicles used to transport tthe public or more than one employee carrying out work duties â€“ even if the use is at different times or only intermittent.

Assuming the driver was a sole trader and the passenger was not employed by him the driver has a defence. Let hope he wins his appeal.He should do.

accurate babe

proper order bloody disgusting cancer spreading smokers

Dave

It's against the law to smoke in a company vehicle when there is a passenger in the vehicle. So if you have a company car, it is illegal to smoke in the car when someone else is it - even if they give permission. The fact that he owns the vehicle is irrelevant.

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