Buxton business fined after vape and knives sold to under-18

Director Maryam Rahman attended Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on 17 May

A business has been fined £6,000 after admitting selling knives and a vape to an underage person.

Derbyshire County Council said Buxton Bargains, on Spring Gardens in Buxton, also possessed vape machines that did not comply with UK legislation.

Maryam Rahman, director of Buxton Mega Pound Store Limited, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on the company's behalf on 17 May.

As well as the fine, the business was also ordered to pay £5,000 in costs.

The case came to light after the council said test purchases were carried out by trading standards officers in May and June 2023, during which sales of knives and a vape were made to a volunteer who was under 18.

No age or ID checks were carried out, and further visits found vapes that did not comply with regulations on nicotine levels or labelling.

The six counts included one of selling an offensive weapon to a person under 18, one count of selling a nicotine product to a person under 18, and four offences relating to selling vapes that did not comply with legislation.

Carol Hart, the county council's cabinet member for health and communities, said: "There has been a worrying increase in incidents of crime involving knives and young people, and we have also seen an influx of illicit vaping products being supplied to children."