Bicester corner shop fined for underage vape sale

The crackdown comes as reports suggest the government may be considering a cigarette ban for the next generation

A shop owner has been ordered to pay more than £2,500 after selling a disposable e-cigarette to a minor.

Nevilkumar Mody, 35, pleaded guilty to the sale at his Bicester convenience shop at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Monday.

He was convicted of the offence following an investigation by Oxfordshire County Council's trading standards service.

Mody sold the peach-ice disposable vape to a 15-year-old customer in January.

He was fined £400 and ordered to pay a £160 victim surcharge.

Full costs of £2,037 were awarded to Oxfordshire County Council, which brought the prosecution.

The sale of any kind of e-cigarette to a person under the age of 18 is illegal and classed as an offence under The Children and Families Act 2014.

Mr Mody made the sale himself and did not ask the test purchaser their age or ask for any identification.

Jody Kerman, Oxfordshire County Council's head of trading standards, said shops that do not comply with the law put children "at risk" and gain an "unfair advantage" over their competitors.

"We will continue to respond to community concerns in this area, prioritising the health and wellbeing of residents and helping to create a level playing field for businesses to operate within," he said.

The shop was one of several visited as part of a test purchasing operation based on information from complaints by residents, a councillor and the local policing team.

Councillor Kate Gregory, Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet member for community services and safety, said: "While e-cigarettes pose only a small fraction of the risk of traditional cigarettes, they are not risk-free products and we do not encourage young people who have never smoked before to begin using them."

She added that the trading standards team would continue its tests to to ensure "adequate precautions" were being taken by retailers.