BOOZERS in three of the area's busiest pubs will not be allowed to have a fag with their pint from next year.

Bosses at pub chain JD Wether-spoon have decided to stub out smoking in all their 650 outlets by May 2006.

And that means the Sir Richard Owen, on Spring Garden Street, the Green Ayre, on Cheapside and the Eric Bartholomew, in Morecambe will become smoke free.

Ashtrays will be out by the middle of next year but the ban may come into force before then with the chain promising to make at least 60 venues clear of smoke from May.

Smoking is already banned at the bar of all Wetherspoon's pubs and in associated chain Lloyd's No 1.

JD Wetherspoon chairman and founder Tim Martin claims the ban is the right way forward and says: "An increasing percentage of the population is giving up smoking and people are staying away from pubs and restaurants because they are too smoky.

"Wetherspoon pioneered non-smoking areas but we feel the time is right to go further."

The chain, who market their products cheaper than most of the competition, are introducing the new policy two years ahead of a proposed government ban on smoking in pubs - pencilled in for 2008.