Stores fined over 'no smoking' signs.
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At least two shops in Crouch End Hill were fined and another two issued with warnings during an enforcement operation last Tuesday over 'no smoking' signs.
View Opticians is one of the stores to challenge the hefty £250 ticket, after a break-in two months ago meant it had yet to replace the sign on the newly-fitted front door.
Owner Rohini Jansari said: "It's a very extreme reaction and completely inappropriate - we really don't need this, not at this time. Smoking has never been allowed in here, even before the ban, so why would anyone do it now. There are a lot of things you shouldn't do in a shop like stealing or assaulting people - do we need to put a sign up for everything?"
Owners of Carters Glass, who were forced to halve the size of their store because of the financial squeeze, escaped a fine and were issued with a warning.
Co-owner Ray Prior said: "We have just moved everything into this shop a couple of months back and the last thing on our minds was getting the no smoking sign up back up again."
Traders in Crouch End attacked the clampdown, accusing Haringey Council of squeezing cash out of them for a trivial offence.