Sorry mum but I've got no choice.. you're fired

A PUB owner today told how he had been forced to sack his own mother because of the smoking ban.

George Fyvie closed the Illicit Still in Tollcross after takings plummeted by more than half after the ban was introduced just over a year ago.

Mr Fyvie, who also runs the Three Tuns on Hanover Street and Bacchus on Bonnington Road, had to axe eight staff when the pub folded, including his mother, Margaret Fyvie.

Mrs Fyvie, 51, from Niddrie Mill, started working as a barmaid 30 years ago but has since been unable to get another job.

Mr Fyvie, 31, who bought the Brougham Street bar in 2005, said smokers had been driven away because he was unable to provide outside shelter for them.

He said: "It was such a shame. The staff were fantastic and were working all hours so we could try to keep the wage bill down, but it just didn't work. We ended up having just a few regular customers.

"I had to lay off all of the staff, the most embarrassing being my own mum. It was a really difficult thing to have to do.

"She's found it really hard to get a job since - I think because of her age. A lot of pubs don't want more mature people behind the bar."

He said takings had dropped from around 6000 a week to less than 2500 after the ban was introduced last year. He added: "We tried to get something outside so we could keep our smoking customers, but it was impossible to get permission. We were eventually allowed a temporary canopy, but we were only allowed to put it up at certain times."

Mrs Fyvie said she was more concerned for her son than herself when she found out the pub was going to have to close.

She said: "It's been upsetting for us all. It was hard for him having to pay me off. He kept me informed about what was happening, so it didn't come as a surprise. He tried to get more customers coming in, but it didn't happen. It's very sad for him."

Mr Fyvie said his daytime sales had slumped more than 1000 per cent to just 14 at his Hanover Street bar. He also had to overhaul the food menu at Bacchus and relaunch it as a "child-friendly" pub to win back customers.

He said: "The Three Tuns is doing okay now because we are pushing it as a live music venue, but it is keeping Bacchus afloat."

Ann Wigglesworth, secretary of Tollcross Community Council, said: "I'm surprised the Illicit Still has had to close because he did seem to go to a lot of effort to make the pub nice."

Patrick Brown, chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, said he was not aware of many pubs closing down as a result of the smoking ban, but said there were a number of "inconsistencies" around planning permission for smoking shelters.

He said: "We asked the Scottish Executive about six months before the ban was introduced to consider issuing guidance to local authorities as to what would be acceptable. They knocked us back as they didn't want to encourage minimum standards. It should have been obvious issues would come up where people weren't able to get planning permission."

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