A LANDLORD has welcomed the Government rowing back on making it illegal to smoke in pub beer gardens.

It comes as vaping and smoking could be banned in other public places in England under a bill introduced to Parliament on Tuesday.

Health secretary Wes Streeting said the hospitality industry has “taken a real battering in recent years” and it is not “the right time” to ban smoking outside pubs, as was reported earlier this year.

Back in August, Lee Marshall - who runs The Woodlands Hotel on Mill Carr Hill Road in Oakenshaw - was baffled when he heard about the prospect of the ban.

Today he is glad the Government has halted its plan - saying the "right decision" has been made.

"They would have shot everyone in the foot," Mr Marshall told the Telegraph & Argus.

"They would have created so much upheaval. It would have been the worst thing ever for this industry.

"It would have been an absolute nightmare."

Bradford Council would favour a move to ban smoking and vaping in play areas.

Cllr Sue Duffy, Portfolio Holder for Children and Chair of Bradford’s Tobacco Control Alliance said: “Bradford Council welcomes the Tobacco and Vapes Bill and the enhanced proposals put forward by the Labour government. 

"As part of our own Smokefree Strategy for Bradford, we were already progressing work to request that adults are positive role models to young people and do not smoke or vape in play areas so this would be very helpful if this becomes enforceable by law.”

A spokesperson for the Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust added: “We welcome this public health intervention.

"As an NHS organisation, we have a duty to protect and care for the health and wellbeing of our patients, staff and visitors.

"That’s why all our trust’s premises and sites are already designated smoke free areas.”

The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will prevent anyone born after January 1, 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.

Health bosses have welcomed the bill, which will be subject to consultation for several months.

Rose Dunlop, Interim Director for Public Health at Bradford Council added: “Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable illness and death in England, responsible for 64,000 fatalities each year and killing two out of three smokers.

"We know that most people who smoke start young, regret ever starting, and then struggle to quit.

"This is why it is vital to prevent our children and young people becoming addicted to tobacco and nicotine.

“If you already smoke, stopping smoking is the single most important thing you can do to improve your health in the long term."