THE owner of a Hayes restaurant has been prosecuted for failing to prevent smoking in a smoke-free area.

Ali Bakry, 39, from Cricklewood, and Ali Baba Lounge Limited, which manages Ali Baba Lounge, Unit 1, Newport Road, Hayes, were ordered to pay £1,726 at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court.

This included a fine of £666, an order to pay a contribution of £1,000 towards prosecution costs.

Hillingdon Council investigated after discovering the restaurant was operating as a shisha smoking business.

Officers found customers smoking shisha pipes in an enclosed space outside - a breach of the Health Act 2006. The owners had ignored repeated warnings to stop.

Cllr Douglas Mills, Cabinet Member for Community, Commerce and Regeneration, said: “We will not tolerate businesses that flagrantly break the law in the borough.”