More than 800 illegal vapes seized in North East Lincolnshire in three months

Over 800 e-cigarettes and vapes were seized between April and June by North East Lincolnshire Council trading standards, a senior councillor has said. Since June 1, the local authority has faced a new element to crack down on in its battle against illicit goods, with the ban on the sale of single-use vapes.

This was raised by Cllr Kath Wheatley (Labour – West Marsh Ward) at full council, who asked what actions and compliance monitoring are being taken to enforce this ban. Cllr Ron Shepherd (Conservative – Scartho), portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, reeled off a series of statistics on trading standards seizures, arguing it showed the council has become more proactive.

He also said closure orders on retail shops, which prohibit access for three months based on anti-social behaviour concerns, are “ineffective” in most cases. This was partly due to perpetrators reopening elsewhere, or ownership of the shops swapping hands, and he urged the public to come forward with intelligence.

“Retail shops are subject to regular, unannounced compliance visits by NELC Trading Standards,” Cllr Shepherd said. “Any illegal vapes found on sale or in storage are seized.”

Intelligence reports on illegal vape supplies, often linked to illegal tobacco, are also “regularly reviewed”. This is to plan possible multi-agency raids, with the likes of police.

Landlords are also encouraged, where appropriate, to evict tenants found to be selling illicit goods. Cllr Shepherd noted landlords can be subject to financial investigation through the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He said in quarter one of the 2025/26 financial year, there were four premises seizures by the council’s trading standards and enforcement. Three premises are subject to formal court action and one premises is subject to a written warning. 864 sticks of e-cigarettes and vapes have been seized.

In 2024/25, there were 38 premises subject to seizures, up five on the year before and up from 29 in 2022/23. “So you will see from those figures that we are being more proactive,” asserted Cllr Shepherd.

Last financial year also saw 19 written warnings issued, 21 formal court actions pursued and 14,567 individual vapes seized. “North East Lincolnshire Council, along with many other local authorities, is receiving additional Government funding to combat illegal tobacco and vape supplies,” Cllr Shepherd said.

The Government announced in March an extra £10m to help local Trading Standards teams hire more officers. This, along with other funding, has helped fund the recruitment of two Trading Standards apprentices in North East Lincolnshire.

Cllr Shepherd said the council had examined practising closure orders regularly. But the criteria involves convincing a magistrate of sufficient evidence and risk of further harm or organised criminal activity.

“In most cases, they’re ineffective as the perpetrators simply reopen under another name within the vicinity, or on the periphery of the borough. Our approach has been disrupted by lack of intelligence, and on owners of the businesses and formal addresses.

“We need the intelligence to come from the general public and other outlets,” he said, in a plea for intelligence reports to assist trading standards. “They tend to change their names and ownership on a regular basis, and we really do need to concentrate on the owner of the premises through Land Registry, they are the ones. Evidence in this plays a massive part, and the judicial system really doesn’t help.”