COUNCIL bosses in Burnley have vowed to get tough on people who flout the smoking ban in the bus station and taxis.

Almost a year after the law was brought in, town hall chiefs have hailed it a success and are yet to prosecute anyone under the new regulations.

Pubs, hotels, restaurants, shops and other workplaces are now smoke-free but officers say smokers who ignore the ban in the town's bus station could be hit with a £50 charge.

And taxi drivers have also been warned they could be fined £200 if they fail to display no smoking signs in their cabs.

Burnley Council now says its enforcement team will work with taxi licensing and bus station officers to carry out a "targeted publicity campaign".

It includes stationing staff at the bus station to remind passengers of the ban and hand out leaflets.

Environmental health and licensing manager Karen Davies said: "We have visited more than 300 premises to check compliance with the smoking ban and the majority of businesses and individuals respect the reasons for the smoke-free legislation and comply with the law.

"However we have had reports that smoking has continued, by a small number of individuals, in the smoke-free areas of the bus station and in taxis."

Bosses are also confident that their campaign ties in with a move by health chiefs to save a million year's of life in the region.

East Lancashire Teaching Primary Care Trust (PCT) wants residents to give up smoking as part of a drive to raise life expectancy.

Coun Roger Frost, executive member for the environment, said: "We want to support the campaign by reminding people of the reasons the smoke-free legislation was introduced, and ensure that the public and workers continue to be protected from involuntarily breathing in second-hand smoke which is proven to increase the risk of coronary heart disease and lung cancer."

The England-wide smoking ban was brought in by the Government on July 1 last year.

The first venue in East Lancashire to be prosecuted for flouting the new law was The Tacklers club, in Knowsley Street, Colne, in March.