The owner of a corner shop in Taunton has been fined more than £2,300 after an employee sold a disposable vape to a customer who was under 18.

This marks the third prosecution in three months for the sale of vapes to underage customers in the wider area, with a business in Bridgwater being prosecuted in August and another in Paignton in September.

Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy Malapati, 38, sole director of Reddysgroup Ltd which owns Reddy’s News in Taunton, pleaded guilty on behalf of the business at Taunton Magistrates Court on Tuesday, October 8.

The prosecution follows an investigation by the Heart of the South West Trading Standards Service after an employee sold a disposable Elf vape to a 15-year-old in February.

Two trading standards officers were in the shop at the time of the sale, and at no point did they see the employee ask the customer for ID or any proof of age.

The officers then spoke to the seller, who denied he was an employee, and was helping out Mr Malapati. They also asked about what measures were in place to prevent underage sales, which the seller said he did not know of any measures, but had been told verbally.

Mr Malapati said he had not been at the shop at the time of the sale and has fired the employee and provided training to put in place a ‘No ID, No Sale’ policy.

Alex Fry, the operations manager for Heart of the South West Trading Standards service, said: “bright colours and sweet flavours of vapes are attracting young people and so it is essential that store owners ensure that they do not sell these products to children and that systems are in place to prevent that from happening.

“In this case there were no procedures in place and the employer had not trained the employee and that led to the prosecution.

“We will continue to respond to community concerns in this area, prioritising the health and wellbeing of residents and our young people.

“Where premises fail test purchase operations, we will take a good look at the measures which were in place before deciding what action to take. In this case the employee was given ample opportunity to ask for ID and he did not.

“Retailers must understand that selling age restricted products to a minor is an offence and by doing so they are gambling with their livelihoods.”