Customers puffing a cigarette in the 850-space lot behind the Fishergate Centre face an automatic half year exclusion order and a £50 on-the-spot fine if spotted by security guards.

New laws outlawing smoking in enclosed public spaces came into force nationwide earlier this month but the legislation does not cover open places. A number of signs on the doors of Fishergate, however, claim it is against the law to light up in the car park – but none of them warn of the tough penalties. The warning is made in leaflets which are available inside the centre.

Fishergate bosses have pointed out they are entitled to make their own rules as the car park is privately owned but smokers' rights group, Forest, has branded the punishment heavy-handed. Forest spokesman Simon Clark claimed it could put off smokers from shopping at Fishergate.



He said: "They are within their rights if it is private property but it just seems very petty and pointless. These people need to live in the real world, not in some smoke-free Utopia.

"If people are going shopping, it's likely they will want to have a quick cigarette when they come out of the centre."

Leaflets on an information stand inside Fishergate warn smoking shoppers a six-month ban will come into force "automatically" if they are caught but bosses have insisted exclusions were unlikely.

>> Customers fail to spot ban signs

A spokeswoman for Fishergate said: "The use of an exclusion order referred to on the leaflet is a last resort effort on behalf of the shopping centre management to enforce the smoke-free environment that both smokers and non-smokers agree with.

"In the current climate of environmental awareness, we believe that it is highly unlikely that a member of the public will be refused admission for a breach of our no-smoking policy within the car park."

It is believed Fishergate is the only open-air car park in Preston to introduce a smoking ban.

Preston Council and Deepdale Retail Park said there were no bans on smoking in their outdoor bays.