Preston shop given a year-long ban from selling tobacco and vapes
A Preston shop, trading under the name of PR1 Euro Mini Market, on Church Street, has been banned from selling any tobacco or vaping products for 12 months.
Lancaster Magistrates' Court made the Restricted Premises Order following an application to the court by Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards service.
The premises was operated until recently by a company known as Sweet Shop 136 Ltd., trading under the name of PR1 Euro Mini Market. The Order follows that company's conviction in January 2025 for six offences of selling vapes to under-18s during Trading Standards' test purchasing exercises.
The first sale took place on 18 June last year when a male assistant sold a strawberry mojito-flavoured vape to a 15-year-old girl without challenging her to provide proof of age.
Two months later, on 16 August, a different assistant sold vapes to two 15-year-old girls, again without challenge.
Just days later, on 20 August, one of the two men repeated the offence by making three more sales, this time to two girls aged 14 and 15, and a 16-year-old boy.
Lancaster Magistrates' Court was told that a Restricted Premises Order is aimed at dealing with premises where sales are persistently made to youngsters.
The Order makes it an offence to sell any cigarettes, tobacco, vapes or cigarette papers at the shop for the next 12 months, and applies regardless of whether the premises changes hands in the meantime. The Order has been registered as a land charge with the local authority so that anyone looking to trade from the premises is made aware of its effect. Officers have informed employees working at the shop that selling products prohibited by the Order is punishable by a fine of up to £5,000.
Last week, the two assistants who made the sales were separately sentenced at Blackburn Magistrates' Court when they received fines of between £276 and £389.
Angela Lomax, Trading Standards manager at Lancashire County Council said: "This store has repeatedly demonstrated their blatant disregard for the law and the health and wellbeing of our young people in Lancashire.
"Children need protecting from the harm these products can cause, and securing this Order reinforces our commitment to taking tough action when businesses are found to be flouting the rules."