Cleobury Mortimer store owner fined for vape sale to underage customer

The owner of the Select and Save store in Cleobury Mortimer has been convicted of selling a nicotine vape product to a minor under the legal age of 18, following a prosecution by Shropshire Council.

R P Enterprises Ltd of Penn Road, Wolverhampton, was convicted at Telford Magistrates Court on 5 February 2024 and ordered to pay a total of £5,944 in fines and costs.

Shropshire Council’s trading standards team conducted an underage sales exercise with two volunteers at the store in June 2023, after receiving intelligence that the premises was selling vapes to children under the age of 18.

Of the six premises subjected to a test purchase on the day, only the Select and Save store sold a disposable vape to the volunteers.

The prosecution was brought as the business was unable to provide sufficient evidence of procedures it had taken to prevent the future sales of age restricted products to minors.

Chris Schofield, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said: “This case is a reminder to any business selling age-restricted products of their responsibilities to prevent sales to minors, such as ‘Challenge 25′, requesting photo ID, and ensuring all staff receive adequate training.

“We want to make sure Shropshire is a strong, safe and attractive place for people, and our trading standards team will continue to work to ensure laws on age related products are complied with.

“This kind of work by trading standards helps prevent under 18s from accessing age-restricted products from businesses who flout the law.”