BARROW would be the third hardest hit area in the UK by the proposed smoking ban, according to new data. 

In August, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the Government would 'take decisions' on a potential outdoor smoking ban in an effort to curb preventable deaths and alleviate pressures on the NHS. 

According to leaked proposals seen by The Sun newspaper, the indoor smoking ban could be extended to cover other locations including beer gardens, small parks, outdoor restaurants and hospitals.

David Windsor, landlord of The Newton Arms in Dalton, previously called the plans 'ridiculous.' 

He said he could see 'probably a dozen' people smoking outside in his beer garden, an area that would likely have to have restrictions under the plans, and argued that there would be an impact on the pub industry if they were implemented.

The landlord of The Newton Arms in Dalton labelled the plans 'ridiculous' (Image: Google Maps)

"Are they banning smoking in the streets? Ridiculous. If that is the best they can come up with. How can you control a beer garden? Absolute utter rubbish," he said. 

QR Code Generator created an index measuring the impact of the prime minister's proposed smoking ban on different areas of the UK. It used Office for National Statistics data and Bing maps to find the number of pubs, sports venues and medical centres that would have to change their outdoor spaces to implement the measure in a given area relative to its population and number of reported smokers.

The third highest in the index was Barrow,  which has the tenth-highest percentage of smokers of any area in the UK. Just over one in five (21 per cent) are reported as smokers, which works out to 14,149 of Barrow's 67,375 residents. 

Barrow has 10.39 sports venues, 14.84 medical centres and 104 pubs per 100,000 residents, giving it an index score out of 100 of 66.91, according to the data.

This placed Barrow behind Lincoln and Westminster, which topped the list. 

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, asked for a cut to beer duty after the proposals were leaked. 

According to the association, pubs currently make an average of 12p profit on every pint of beer once taxes and costs have been deducted. 

She said: "There is no more meat on the bone to cut, which is why we are calling on the Government reduce the cost of doing business so we can continue to make a massive contribution to the public purse.”