A SHISHA cafe has become the first premises in Blackburn with Darwen to be prosecuted under new anti-smoking laws.

The manager of the Sahara cafe, in Darwen Street, Blackburn, has claimed council bosses are trying to make an example of him.

Muhammad Jaber insisted he is innocent and that nobody had used the traditional Middle Eastern-style pipes in his cafe since smoking in public places became illegal last July.

But he revealed he would be leaving Blackburn because of the devastating effect the ban has had on trade, with takings plummeting 70 per cent.

The 53-year-old appeared in court on Friday charged with breaching the anti-smoking laws on September 22 last year.

Mr Jaber is charged with failing to stop a person smoking and obstructing an enforcement officer.

Council bosses said they "did not take any pleasure in launching court proceedings" but that they were "just doing our job".

Speaking after the case was adjourned, Mr Jaber said: "I am not going to plead guilty, because I am not guilty.

"It's like finding blood and a knife and saying you have killed someone. They didn't find anyone smoking."

Following the ban, campaigners lobbied the government to make an exception to the law - which banned smoking in enclosed public spaces - for Shisha.

Shisha is an ancient Middle Eastern tradition in which fruit-scented tobacco is burnt using coal, passed through an ornate water vessel and inhaled through a hose.

The cafes had a surge in popularity in the past 10 years, but have been hit hard by the smoking ban.

One Shisha bar owner from Bradford is taking a stand against the new laws in what is seen as a landmark test case.

The owner of the Markaz Shisha Lounge in the city admits smoking has gone on inside the premises but is hoping to win such cafes an exemption.

Mr Jaber, who moved to Blackburn 22 years ago from Palestine, said he sold coals, flavoured tobacco or herbal fruit pulp and hired out the water-filtered shisha pipes to punters, but did not allow smoking inside anymore.

He said: "We tried to comply with the law. A lot of our customers come in to buy Shisha and want to smoke it in here but we do not let them.

"The smoking ban has affected everyone, not only me.

"But this is our business. It's part of our culture.

"My takings are down by 70 per cent. We have had petitions with thousands of signatures, but nobody's listening.

"I would like to lead the way but I feel they have got me as a target to teach the others."

Mr Jaber, of Arncliffe Avenue, Accrington, said he now planned to open a cafe, selling just food, in the Trafford Centre, Manchester, because of the situation in Blackburn.

The owner of the Sahara Cafe is currently abroad and it is not know whether he intends to keep it open as a Shisha venue after Mr Jaber has left.

A council spokesman said they had twice warned the cafe verbally and once in writing about smoking allegedly continuing at the cafe.

Coun Slater, executive member for citizens and consumer rights, said: "Shisha smoking is far more dangerous than cigarette smoking.

"At the end of the day no-one is above the law of the land.

"All we are doing is enforcing the legal requirements.

"We don't take any great pleasure in this, we are just doing our job."

If convicted, Mr Jaber could face a fine of hundreds of pounds plus costs.

The case was adjourned until March 28.

Earlier this month, The Tacklers Club in Knowsley Street, Colne, was the first licensed premises in East Lancashire to be prosecuted for flouting the smoking ban.