Patients and visitors to Bradford Royal Infirmary are blatantly flouting a smoking ban at the hospital.

The ban in and around the hospital came into force on January 1 but the message does not seem to be getting across.

Despite large signs warning of the ban, smokers are continuing to congregate at the main entrance of BRI and are littering the steps with cigarette ends.

During two brief visits, T&A photographers saw smoker after smoker light up outside the entrance.

The issue has been raised with the T&A by patients and visitors who say more needs to be done to police adhere to the ban.

One Bradford man who spent nine months having treatment for bowel cancer on Ward 15 at BRI and still attends regularly, said the situation was absolutely disgraceful.

The 59-year-old, who did not want to be named, said smokers and cigarette ends continued to litter the entrance steps.

"The thing that used to upset me most was not having a way in or out of the hospital without walking past smokers, so when the ban came in I thought 'great'," he said.

"But the ban is just a joke. Patients come down with drips in their arms to smoke and when they go back to the wards the staff just tell them they shouldn't do it.

"I have asked staff and porters to do something but they do nothing. What is the point of having a policy if no one is prepared to enforce it?

"When you have spent all those months alongside people with lung cancer you don't want to come out to find people smoking.

"I am not against smoking. I think everyone has a right to kill themselves if they want to, but don't blow it in my face."

Jennifer Clarke, of James Street, Thornton, wrote to the Telegraph & Argus, saying: "I recently visited a friend in Bradford Royal Infirmary and was appalled at the disgusting state of the entrance.

"There must have been at least 300 cigarette ends strewn all over the entrance steps and the carpet inside and the rubbish bin was overflowing."

A spokesman for Bradford Teaching Hospitals said: "We take the health and safety of our staff, patients and visitors extremely seriously and that is why we became a smoke-free hospital at the start of this year - in line with Government policy.

"We understand that for those who do smoke this might be a difficult change, but we have to balance this against the health and wishes of the majority who do not smoke.

"Anyone who has concerns about people smoking on the hospital site should be assured we are doing everything we can.

"If a person is seen smoking in the grounds, we advise them of the policy and ask them politely but firmly to abide by it.

"If any patient or visitor sees someone flouting the rule, we would urge them to inform staff.

"Careful planning and preparation was carried out to ensure publicity was in place as well as support for those affected. We will continue to enforce the policy as strongly as possible."

Last month MPs voted to ban all smoking in enclosed public places - a victory for the Telegraph & Argus Clear the Air campaign. The ban starts next summer and fines for failing to stop people smoking in restricted areas could be as much £2,500.

All hospital and primary care trust properties in the district became smoke-free this year.

In Bradford, the policy was widely publicised for three months before it began in January, with GPs spreading the word to patients referred to hospital. Signs went up at hospital entrances and in waiting rooms.

At the time Karon Snape, assistant director of non-clinical support services at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said the ban was the responsibility of all hospital staff to police.

Today, a spokesman for the Trust said it was focusing on its own policy which was expected to help many in the district stop smoking and said next year's legal ban would be an extra piece in their armoury to enforce it.