A fast-food restaurant in Holloway where customers smoked shisha pipes has been hit with a £4,000 fine for breaching the smoking ban.

Jzee Grillerz in Holloway Road was charging £10 to sit in a first floor room and smoke the fruit flavoured tobacco.

Council officers advised cafe manager Syed Zaidi regarding the smoking ban, but on a follow up visit in April, found shisha being smoked in the enclosed room as well as evidence of cigarette smoking.

The room, erected on a flat roof, was also found to have been built without planning permission.

Mr Syed did not show up to Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on Thursday July 24 where he was convicted of breaching the Health Act 2006, and ordered to pay a total of £4,050 – including £930 of council costs.

Cllr Paul Convery, Islington Council’s executive member for community safety, said: “We expect high standards from businesses serving residents and the public in Islington.

“In this case the smoking ban was completely ignored and so was our advice, so we took legal action that has resulted in a hefty fine.

“We can offer help to businesses on how to avoid breaking the law - but we will take decisive action where the law is flouted.

“There is a myth that smoking shisha is somehow ‘ok’ or healthier than cigarette smoking, but evidence suggests it is just as dangerous or even worse.”

According to the British Heart Foundation, an hour long shisha “session” could be equivalent to smoking 100 cigarettes.