11 January 2007: Put it out, please

Council bosses have defended a decision to investigate a complaint about a couple smoking in their own home.

The couple were stunned when they were told officials were to probe their smoking habits following a complaint from a neighbour.

The couple, from Caernarfon, north Wales, received a letter from Gwynedd County Council saying a neighbour had complained about cigarette smoke "permeating into her living room".

The husband, who smokes 20 cigarettes a day, said: "I thought it must be a joke."