PUBS in the region saw the biggest drop in sales in the country after the introduction of the smoking ban.

Figures compiled by trade magazine the Morning Advertiser, showed that sales were down 6.2 per cent in the first seven days of the ban compared to the previous week.

Overall sales at 1,500 pubs monitored across England dropped by an average of 1.3 per cent - although the magazine said the fall was not as bad as some had predicted.

The ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces came into force in England on July 1.

Clive Consterdine, director of Nucleus Data, which carried out the research, said recent poor weather in the North-East was probably a factor.

Mr Consterdine said: ''The planning that the licensed trade has undergone largely appears to have paid off, but we recognise that we are reliant on the weather to get customers out of their houses.''

Last night, pub and hotel owners in the North-East gave a thumbs-up to the new legislation and played down any impact on sales.

Geoff Wells, landlord of The Dalesman Hotel, in Victoria Road, Darlington, said: "We haven't had any adverse effects at all. I was prepared for it because we had an outdoor smoking shelter set up before the ban came in. People quite enjoy going outside for a drink.

"We haven't lost any regulars. Everyone thinks it's a good idea because it will help them to cut down."

Richard Slade, North-East chairman of the British Institute of Innkeeping, said: "I have not seen any major shift down in trade and none of our members have come to me saying business has been diabolical.

"Certainly, businesses that have prepared and got themselves ready for the ban should not see any drop in turnover."