THE classlessness of smoking is explored in a new exhibition by Hartpury photographer Heather Lindsay.

Heather interviewed 35 people from all walks of life, from Lord Leigh through to a homeless Gloucester man called James, as she looked at what type of person smoked.

An ex-smoker herself, Heather said the roots of the study came when she saw a friend smoking at a bus-stop and decided to take his picture.

She said the common denominator appeared to her to be addiction and the desire to be part of a peer group, although many she talked to wanted to give up either now or in the future.

"It is not for, it is not against, it's nothing like that, it's really to do with it being classless," she said.

Heather, who is studying for a degree in art and design in Hereford, opens her exhibition at Gloucester's Guildhall today (Friday). It runs until November 26.

"What I have really liked about interviewing everyone I have photographed is that they all have their own story to tell about how and why they took up smoking," she said.

Looking for it has also made her more aware of how we are surrounded by smoking and images of it. Her pictures are shot using a Hasselblad camera and black and white film, to give an atmospheric feel.