Herefordshire council has prosecuted tens of businesses over illicit sales of vapes and tobacco, it can be revealed.

In a freedom of information request, Herefordshire council was asked how many prosecutions had been sought by Trading Standards teams in the past five years and how many underage tobacco and vape sales had been recorded since 2019.

The council revealed that trading standards have sought prosecutions for 21 businesses in the past five years, and recorded 13 underage tobacco and vape sales.

The request did not reveal the outcome of the prosecutions, however, it did say that there is no minimal value or quantity of illicit tobacco and vape products that trading Standards officers must seize from a retailer before prosecution is sought.

It also revealed that there is no minimum number of illicit tobacco and vape possession offences a retailer must have received before prosecution is sought.

Herefordshire council have previously said they are "continuing to fight" against illegal tobacco and vape sales in the county.

In August, the Mini Market vape shop at 49 Broad Street, Ross-on-Wye was issued with a court order forcing it to close for a full three-month period, ending on 19 November this year, after the council’s trading standards team discovered illegal tobacco products during a raid.

Hereford Magistrates heard that on four enforcement visits since June 2023, 592 illegal vapes, 581 packs of illegal cigarettes, and 5.75 kg of counterfeit hand-rolling tobacco had been seized.