During February half term, Trading Standards Officers from Barking and Dagenham Council ran a two-day underage test purchasing operation alongside the Dagenham Safer Neighbourhood Police Team.

The operation which took place on Monday 19 February and Wednesday 21 February, saw a 14-year-old attempt to purchase vapes and alcohol from 37 businesses.

On Monday, 22 premises were sampled, and all refused to sell to the young person.

However, on the Wednesday, two businesses out of 15 sold alcohol to the 14-year-old.

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “We have a zero-tolerance approach when it comes to underage sales of age-restricted products, such as alcohol, vapes, knives and cigarettes.

“Although I am very pleased that 95% of the businesses passed the test, it is also concerning that two of the shops thought it was okay to sell alcohol to a 14-year-old.”

The two businesses that failed now face further investigation and possible prosecution.

If a resident is aware of a business of selling age restricted products to children, they can report them to the council by emailing tradingstandard@lbbd.gov.uk or to Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133.