Lincolnshire Police confirm that four Spalding shops have been closed for three months for illegal cigarette and vape sales

Police have confirmed that they have been granted closure orders for four shops for the sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes.

Euro Star, Baltic, Warsaw and European Food Store, in Winsover Road, Spalding, will not be able to open for three months after officers were granted closure orders by Lincoln magistrates yesterday (Thursday, February 15).

Police and Lincolnshire County Council’s Trading Standards officers are working together to help clamp down on the sales of illegal cigarettes and vapes in towns across the county.

This arrangement speeds up the legal process to shut these shops – which will allow more orders to come through – along with using A0 posters to advertise the reasons why a premises has been closed.

A police spokesman said: “We were yesterday (15 February) granted four closure orders at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court, each for a period of three months. The shops are Euro Star, Baltic, Warsaw and European Food Store.

“The closure orders relate to the suspected persistent sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes.”

Andy Wright, Principal Trading Standards Officer, said it was important to ‘remove the blight’ from our towns.

He said: “People question what the issue is with these shops, after all ‘they’re just selling cheap cigarettes’.

“Unfortunately that’s far from the whole story. We find that many of these shops are operated by out of county organised crime groups. They commonly employ persons with no rights to work.

“In the case of the recent Spalding closures on Winsover Road, there were four premises closed within 50 yards of each other. The concentration of such shops outwardly selling near identical goods is not economically sustainable in itself. Instead the viability of such shops is dependent on the sale of counterfeit, smuggled cigarettes and/or illegal vapes. We are aware of many legitimate businesses in Lincolnshire who have been put out of business by this unfair competition.

“Trading Standards have an enforcement responsibility across Lincolnshire. Shops selling illegal cigarettes are found in what the public perceive as crime hotspots within towns. Action in closing these types of shops in the past has resulted in a 12% reduction in anti-social behaviour, and a 16% reduction in violent crime in some areas.

“In the UK, legal cigarettes are required to self-extinguish if left unattended. The cigarettes sold by these shops commonly do not self-extinguish. Unfortunately we are aware of a number of fires and deaths in Lincolnshire directly linked to illegal cigarettes.

“The overall benefit to an area of closing these shops has been proven. It is for that reason that Trading Standards and the Police intend to increase action across Lincolnshire to remove the blight from our High Streets.”