A Watford shop has been ordered to pay £4,345 after it was caught selling a nicotine vape to a child during a test purchase operation. Watford Home Store Ltd, located at 17 The Parade, appeared at St Albans Magistrate’s Court on 6 May 2026, where the company pleaded guilty to the offence, which took place in August 2025.
The total fine handed down by the court consists of a £1,400 penalty, a £560 victim surcharge, and £2,385 to cover prosecution costs. The investigation, led by Hertfordshire County Council Trading Standards Service, found that the shop had failed to implement necessary safeguards to prevent sales to minors. The company’s sole director, Surjanlal Singh Babla, acknowledged that there was no effective system in place, as officials found no records of staff training and an unmaintained refusals log.
The operation followed previous warnings issued to the business by local authorities. During an earlier advisory inspection, officers noted that the shop had not recorded a single refused sale for a period of two months, which indicated that staff were not properly following age-restriction procedures.
Andrew Butler, Director of Regulatory Services and Community Safety at the council, stated that enforcement action will continue to protect young people from harm. He emphasised that businesses selling age-restricted items have a clear legal responsibility to ensure staff are properly trained and that robust checks are in place. This case is part of a wider effort across the county to curb illegal sales, with Trading Standards seizing over 28,000 illegal vapes from retailers during 2025.
Nationally, concerns regarding youth vaping remain high. According to data from Action on Smoking and Health, approximately 20 per cent of 11 to 17-year-olds in Great Britain have tried vaping. New legislative measures are being introduced to address these trends, with the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 receiving Royal Assent on 29 April 2026. This law provides enforcement agencies with expanded powers, including a new retail licensing scheme, supported by £30 million in government funding to tackle the underage sale of nicotine products.
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