The results are in after Bexley residents were surveyed about smoking in public places - and they are not keen on the habit.

A study of 1,500 residents by Bexley council between February and March found an overwhelming majority of people wanted to see smoking banned in public areas.

An enormous 92 per cent of people want to cut down or ban smoking in children's play areas (which is already prohibited in the borough), while 80 per cent want the habit gone from outside of schools/

And 67 per cent of people want to see it banned from Bexleyheath town centre too.

In terms of the impact smoking has on the young, 82 per cent of people from Bexley want to try to prevent children taking up the habit, while 93 per cent of people who do smoke change their habit around children to shield them from fumes.

However, only 36 per cent of smokers said they would not smoke around a child at all.

Cllr Alex Sawyer, cabinet member for communities at the council, said: “When we began to provide free stop smoking services in 2002, 28% of all Bexley residents were smokers. Today this figure has shrunk to just 12.5%.

"There’s always more we can do, and the data from this consultation will help ensure our service continues to meets the needs of our residents and supports even more people in Bexley to quit for good.”

Bexley's Stop Smoking Service is available to anyone registered with a Bexley GP to provide advice and support to help kick the habit.