A cabbie who flouted licensing rules by smoking inside his vehicle has been disciplined by councillors.
Alister Gill was clocked smoking by North Ayrshire Licensing Standards officer Drew Robertson in Canal Street, near Auchenharvie Academy on November 11 at 12.25pm.
Mr Robertson told the Licensing Committee he had not been adhering to licensing conditions on smoking policy.
There had been no previous complaints about him.
Mr Gill was driving a Skoda and was alone in the vehicle with the driver’s window fully down, smoking a cigarette in his right hand.
However the licensing official did not have the opportunity to speak to him on that occasion.
The following day he spoke to the driver on the phone when he offered no explanation of his actions, informed him of the smoking policy and gave him advice, telling him the incident had been reported to the Licensing Committee.
No smoking, he said, was allowed in vehicles and this included e-cigarettes or other vaporised cigarettes.
There was no reason he could not have stood outside to smoke, as it was very dry that day, the officer added.
Mr Gill said he had been driving taxis since 1995. He said he had a bad hire just before when a passenger was not paying the fare, was a bit upset and said he was sorry.
He was asked by committee chair Eleanor Collier if he normally smoked and said he did not.
However, Mr Robertson said he had seen him smoke in his car previously, but it was the first time he had been in a position to deal with him.
Cllr Christina Larsen said bad hires happened and asked if he did anything to retrieve a fare.
She asked if he decided he wanted to have a cigarette to get over the stress of not being paid and he admitted that was the case.
She suggested he could have pulled his car over. He admitted he did not report to anyone that he was not paid the fare.
Cllr Jean McCLung said a lot of people were allergic to cigarette smoke and it could have been the next person who got into the cab after he had lit up would have had difficulty getting into the car. He said he carried an air freshener spray in the car.
Cllr Larsen proposed to issue a warning letter and the reasons he had given for his actions did not satisfy her. Cllr Nairn Angus Macdonald seconded and the committee passed it unanimously.
Chair Eleanor Collier told Mr Gill she did not want to see him appearing again.