Shop that sold cigarettes to children closed

The Blue Shop in Norton Road sold illegal cigarettes priced at £5 to children aged as young as 14

A shop that sold illegal cigarettes to children in Stockton has been closed down.

The Blue Shop in Norton Road sold illicit cigarettes priced at £5 a pack to children aged as young as 14, Stockton Borough Council said.

The shop was handed a three-month closure order at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

The council said it worked with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as part of Operation CeCe, targeting illegal products.

Carolyn Nice, director of adults, health and wellbeing at Stockton Borough Council, said the trading standards team worked "swiftly and decisively to bring the closure order forward".

"The fact that these illegal cigarettes were also being sold to children is particularly concerning – and the closure order is another example of the zero tolerance approach we take," Ms Nice said.