SMOKERS outside pubs have not proved to be as noisy as was expected.

Colchester Council has been “hugely relieved“ at a lack of complaints about the noise of smokers forced in to the open air by the smoking ban introduced in summer last year.

Beverley Jones, the authority’s environmental control manager, said that there “hadn’t been the problem we thought it would be”.

“As a noise team we were quite concerned about complaints that might arise from the smoking ban, with evidence that that had happened when it was introduced in Scotland,” she said.

“But we’ve only had a handful of complaints about the noise from smokers outside.”

Mrs Jones said the council had taken “a proactive approach” to the problem, using the licensing system to set limits on how areas outside pubs can be used for smoking.

“We have put restrictions on how late people can go out into gardens to smoke, which has been set at 9pm for some pubs in residential areas,” she said.

“We have left it to licensees to deal with enforcement, and taken the view that if we haven’t had complaints, there isn’t a problem.”

Mrs Jones said her team aimed to “work positively with landlords” where complaints had been raised.

However, the team has had to start legal proceedings against one nightclub for breaching a noise abatement order.