TWO Hereford shops have been fined for selling vapes for children.

Herefordshire Council has brought enforcement action against the sale of age-restricted products to young people under 18, which includes vapes containing nicotine.

Karwan Rashid of Hereford Drinks Ltd was one of the men to be prosecuted at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on August 22.

The court heard that Rashid, of Cotterell Street, along with Hamza Mohammadi, 24, also of Cotterell Street, sold two vapes, a mango Xtreme Bar and a blue lemonade Elf Bar, to an under-18 on January 26.

Each of the men were fined £440 and ordered to pay court costs of £166 and a victim surcharge of £176 after the offence of selling nicotine-inhaling products to a person aged under 18 was proved by single justice procedure.

Also prosecuted this month was Ako Rasoul of Soho Mini Market Ltd, based in Hereford. 

Rasoul, of Commercial Road, admitted selling a kiwi passion fruit guava SKE Crystal device to a child along with Mohammad Ahmad, 30, of Ross Road, also on January 26.

For this offence, each of the men were fined £294 and ordered to pay court costs of £199.77 and a victim surcharge of £117.

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There are plans for disposable vapes to soon be completely unavailable in UK shops amid a Government ban.

According to the Government, the number of children using vapes has tripled in the last three years and there is evidence to suggest that disposable vapes are partly to blame.

Regulation of flavours, packaging and how they are displayed in shops is also due to change, with trading standards gaining the power to issue on the spot fines of up to £100 to anyone selling tobacco or vapes to children.