DRINKERS can still get their nicotine hit at a Ross-on-Wye pub after councillors gave the go-ahead to keep a smoking shelter.

Residents in nearby Berkeley Mews had complained about the shelter at the King Charles II pub in Broad Street, which had been built without permission.

They said smoke and noise caused a nuisance, especially in the summer, when up to 70 smokers congregate in the garden.

But the new retrospective design includes a soundproof cover that would minimise this and councillors agreed that this would be better than having parasols or “jumbrellas”.