Cyril Carter, 96, has seen the price of cigarettes rocket by a whopping 24000 per cent since he took up smoking.
Back in 1926 twenty Woodbine cost just six old pence but at his ripe old age Cyril still enjoys an occasional fag and pays nearly £6 for a pack of twenty.
War veteran Cyril remains astonished at today's prices but little did he imagine that a single cigarette would ever cost him £100!
But that is the price that former RAF airman Cyril was forced to pay when he was "fined" after lighting-up in his room at four star hotel.
Retired bus inspector Cyril and his wife Lydia, 93, of Birkdale, Southport, decided to take a mini-holiday in their home town and booked into the £150-a-night Ramada Plaza.
But to their astonishment when they came to check-out the couple had a £100 "smoking fine" slapped on their bill.
Management say the recently-built hotel overlooking the resort's Marine Lake is entirely non-smoking and has signs in all the rooms warning guests of the no-fags rule.
Grey-haired Cyril said: "I know cigarettes are expensive these days but I never imagined that smoking one could cost me a hundred pounds.
"I had no idea that there was a no-smoking rule at this hotel. I saw no signs and nobody told me about it.
"I would not have stayed there if I had known and I think they've got a damn cheek charging a pensioner that kind of money.
"You could have knocked me down with a feather when they told me that they were charging me a hundred quid for cleaning the room.
"They kept us for nearly an hour waiting at the reception and they would not let us leave until we paid the fine."
Cyril did not have the extra money to pay the fine and had to borrow it from his sister-in-law who had also stayed at the hotel.
Added Cyril: "It was all very embarrassing. They could see that we are all getting on a bit but they had no sympathy and insisted we had to pay this fine.
"The staff were quite abrupt in the way they treated us and I would never stay at that hotel again."
A spokesman for the Ramada Hotel Southport said: "It is hotel policy to fine guests who smoke £100.
"The hotel is no smoking throughout and there are signs at the main reception and in all of the rooms.
"When people see that the hotel is no smoking, they don't usually decide to light up do they?"
Asked wether the fine might be waived in light of Cyril's age the spokesman added: "If we waive a fine for one then we would have to waive it for all.
"The cost of preparing a room where someone has been smoking is closer to £200."
The smoking rights campaign Forest condemned the Ramada Plaza Hotel over the affair.
A Forest spokesman said: "This shows how extreme the anti-smoking mentality has become in this country.
"If there is a total smoking ban at this hotel the staff should make that very clear to guests when they check-in.
"The staff and management at the Ramada Plaza Hotel should be absolutely ashamed of themselves at treating a war veteran in this appalling way."
Rod, Peterborough around 4 months, 1 week ago