FIRST SMOKE-FREE CASE CONVICTION

A shopkeeper in Falkirk has become the first person in Scotland to be convicted of offences under the smoke-free legislation. Vincent McFadden, a timber merchant, was found guilty of failing to display the required signs, despite having been given them previously. McFadden, who has a timber shop in Dalderse Avenue, Falkirk, became abusive and threatening when Smoking Enforcement Officers approached him about his non-compliance. He was fined £200 at the town’s Sheriff Court for breach of the peace, £125 for failing to display no-smoking signs and £125 for refusing to give his name and address. A spokesman for Falkirk Council said “It is important that businesses recognise that the legislation is there to protect the public and they must comply with all the regulations. We always take an educative approach. Prosecutions are usually only taken as a last resort.”