SMOKING in public has finally been stubbed out in the Hampshire town after council chiefs found they had blundered over the new laws.

As revealed in the Daily Echo, civic leaders in Fareham did not properly grant their officers the right to issue on-the-spot fines for people found flouting the rules about lighting up in pubs and clubs.

While everywhere else in the county since the start of the month smokers have been forced out into the rain to enjoy a smoke, their counterparts in Fareham were technically free to puff away indoors.

Although they would still have been breaking the law, council officers did not have the power to issue spot-fines, and police had already said they would not be enforcing it as a criminal offence.

Red-faced borough council chiefs were forced to admit the error when it came to light a new piece of law meant the full council had to vote on the subject, rather than just its ruling executive.

Although they said they had never intended to implement the ban fully until August, to allow for smokers to get used to the new law, last night they finally closed the loophole.