CLEAN air is on the menu at a North Yorkshire pub - one of the first in the country to declare itself smoke-free.

The Middleton Arms, in the village of Middleton, near Pickering, was recently refurbished by Tony and Jayne Wells.

When they reopened they decided to leave other people's smoke behind so that their customers, staff, chef Peter Wishshaw and children, Chris and Emma, could breathe in lungfuls of fresh country air.

Tony said: "I must say that everyone who has been in has really enjoyed the fact that it's smoke-free. We feel that we are giving customers a choice now, because if someone lights up a cigarette in a pub or restaurant you have to put up with it whether you like it or not."

Tony said smokers were still welcome at the pub, as long as they were happy to smoke at tables and chairs in the beer garden.

"We are not ramming anything down people's throats, it's just about choice," he said.

The decision already seems to be paying off - the couple have received a Roy Castle gold award for a totally smoke-free environment, in memory of the popular entertainer who died of lung cancer.

The non-smoker believed his cancer was caused by the passive smoking he encountered while playing his trumpet in smoky nightclubs.

In the newly-published Yorkshire Guide To Smoke-Free Air, published by campaign group Ash, the Middleton Arms takes pride of place.

Updated: 10:13 Friday, May 30, 2003