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Wales Online
3 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Shop shut down after selling illegal vapes to children
Shop shut down after selling illegal vapes to children The business kept selling illicit vapes and cigarettes even after getting caught Inside Vape Land (Image: Neath Port Talbot council ) A vape shop has been shut down after trading standards officers found it was selling illegal tobacco and vapes. A district judge at Swansea Magistrates' Court approved Neath Port Talbot council's application for a closure order against Vape Land in Commercial Road in Taibach, Port Talbot. Council officers caught the business selling counterfeit and illicit (non-tax paid) tobacco and cigarettes as well as oversized vapes "on a number of occasions" since last June. The council said a test purchase on June 12 last year revealed pouches of counterfeit Amber Leaf hand-rolling tobacco were being sold. And last August an inspection of the premises led to vapes, tobacco and cigarettes being seized. The court heard further complaints were then received over the sale of non-compliant single-use vapes, cigarettes and tobacco — including to customers aged under 18. In April this year, council and police officers raided the shop seizing vapes, cigarettes and tobacco. All the single-use vapes seized were found to contain far more fluid than allowed for such products. The judge agreed to the closure order at a hearing on June 12 after hearing arguments from the council that unless the shop was closed the nuisance would not stop. Article continues below The court heard the person who had been leasing the shop since April 2024 could not be traced. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here . The sale and supply of disposable vapes became illegal across the UK on June 1. This ban — which applies to all businesses regardless of whether the vapes contain nicotine — is aimed at protecting children's health as well as stopping environmental damage from the littering of single-use vapes. The Port Talbot closure order comes after a Swansea shopkeeper admitted eight criminal offences after WalesOnline caught him selling illegal cigarettes and vapes. Peshawa Zada, the 23-year-old owner of Bob Marley Vapes, is awaiting sentence. A Neath Port Talbot council spokesperson said: "Non-compliant single use vapes of the type found at Vape Land are often in colourful, child-appealing packaging and flavours. "The consequences to the mental health of the impressionable children purchasing these vapes can be long term and very serious." The council's cabinet Member for nature, Cen Phillips, said: 'I commend our trading standards officers for achieving this closure order and I would urge anyone who cares about their community and their children's health to report any information they have relating to illegal tobacco or vape sales.' Article continues below Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here . We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice
South Wales Guardian
02-05-2025
- General
- South Wales Guardian
Swift nesting boxes installed at Pontardawe Library
The boxes at Pontardawe Library are part of a nationwide effort to increase swift numbers. Neath Port Talbot Council's Countryside and Wildlife Team collaborated with the council's Library Service to put up the boxes, which will provide additional nesting space for up to 10 pairs of breeding swifts. The boxes are a human solution to the long-term loss of traditional nest sites in buildings, caused by renovations and sealing up of gaps in roofs. They are screwed into the external walls of a building to provide a space in which a pair of breeding swifts can raise their young. These boxes are designed to last decades, and an information panel at the library explains what a swift is and what the boxes are for. Swifts are on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in recognition of the fact that populations across the UK have declined by 58 per cent since 1995 and by 75 per cent in Wales. Swifts spend the winter in Africa and return to the UK in May to breed. Swifts nest almost exclusively in buildings, making use of holes to raise their young. However, with lots of old buildings being renovated to improve insulation or simply demolished, swifts are losing their nesting sites. The Countryside and Wildlife Team secured funding from the Welsh Government Local Places for Nature Fund to get the boxes. This fund aims to make local areas more nature-friendly and raise awareness of wildlife to residents. Recording by members of the NPT Local Nature Partnership has revealed Pontardawe is a hotspot for sightings of swifts in the county. Councillor Cen Phillips, Neath Port Talbot Council's cabinet member for nature, tourism and wellbeing, said: "Providing additional nest sites in this location could provide a vital opportunity to boost the swift population. "Visitors to Pontardawe Library will also be able to enjoy seeing the swift boxes, hopefully the swifts investigating and nesting in the boxes and learn more about this declining bird." The library also has Swift-themed resources for children.
