TWO directors of a Colchester bar who allowed smoking to take place on their premises have been fined more than £2,700 each.

Jonathan Fry and Andrew Cutting, directors of Waikiki bar in Crouch Street, Colchester, appeared before magistrates on Monday after a Colchester Council officer found a small rear courtyard at the bar being used as a smoking area.

The visit took place in October 2015.

Magistrates heard how the officer advised the defendants by letter that the area, which also formed part of an emergency escape route, was ‘substantially enclosed’ by a roof which should either be removed or the space not used as a smoking area.

During a follow-up visit on December 18, two council officers saw three people smoking in the area and described “walking into a wall of smoke”.

Fry and Cutting declined to be interviewed under caution and denied the charges at Colchester Magistrates' Court on May 31.

The original trial, which was scheduled for July 18, was postponed after the defendants' legal representative was stranded in Berlin following a cancelled flight.

The court was told how the defendants claimed they had difficulty finding a builder to remove the roof and had instructed the manager to put up ‘no smoking’ signs and conduct regular checks of the area.

The prosecution maintained that officers had not seen any signage and had spotted a wall-mounted ashtray in the area, meaning the defendants had not taken all reasonable steps to prevent smoking on their premises.

Magistrates fined both defendants £1000 and ordered them to each pay half the council’s costs and a £120 victim surcharge – a total of £2705 each.

Jonathan Fry, who is no longer a director of Waikiki, was allowed 28 days to pay his fine.

Councillor Mike Lilley (Lab), portfolio holder for Safer Communities and Licensing, said: “It is regrettable that this matter had to be resolved in court, especially when officers had given the defendants clear guidance and reasonable time to prevent smoking on their premises.

“This case should serve as a cautionary reminder to others thinking of flouting the ban on smoking in enclosed public places, that we will enforce the regulations whenever it is necessary to do so.”