A HAWORTH man says he is at the “end of his tether” after receiving repeated fines and warnings from Bradford Council for smoke emissions ... from his home’s chimney!

Deacon Phelan, of Thomas Street, said he is struggling to pay off £1,800 worth of fines.

And despite using smokeless fuel, he received a fresh warning from the council last week.

The local authority claims “thick, black, acrid” smoke is coming from his chimney, but Mr Phelan argues his own video evidence shows this is not the case.

“I’ve got letters from the local coal merchant and my chimney sweep to prove I’m using smokeless fuel,” he said. “I’ve put a sign up on my house saying I’m using this fuel, and I’ve invited the council into my house to see what I’m doing.

“I’ve even left my iPhone outside to film my own chimney. But they just won’t listen.”

He added the enforcement by Bradford Council seems particularly bizarre when he lives so close to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, which operates steam engine services daily.

A Bradford Council spokesman said Mr Phelan’s home is within a smoke-controlled area, and that it is considering whether to prosecute him.

Mr Phelan said the first fine was levied when his father still occupied the house, but he had been suffering from dementia and was not aware of what he was putting on the fire.

“My father passed away before Christmas last year,” he said.

“I’ve been fined again, and I’m trying to pay off £1,800 of fines out of my benefits. I’m a carer for my wife and I’m getting no help at all.”

The house fire is also a furnace that provides the only form of heating for the property. “I have to light it to have hot water in the house, “ he said.

“If I look out of my front window, I can see four or five other house chimneys smoking, but I’m the only one who is getting done. I’m being victimised and I’ve had enough.”

A Bradford Council environmental health spokesman said: “Mr Phelan was recently served with a Section 51 notification under the Clean Air Act 1993, which advised him we believe an offence of emitting smoke from a chimney of a building within a smoke-controlled area has been committed. He has been sent this notification because we have witnessed smoke coming out of his chimney, and are now considering whether to pursue a prosecution for the offence.”

lWhat do you think? E-mail richard.parker@keighleynews.co.uk or write to the Keighley News, 80-86 North Street, Keighley BD21 3AG. Please include your full name, address and daytime telephone number.