Illegal vapes worth £41k destroyed in North East Lincolnshire

Thousands of illegal vapes have been destroyed in North East Lincolnshire, council officials said.

Trading standards officers incinerated 3,724 devices seized from businesses as part of a national crackdown on the illegal market.

The vapes had a collective street value of about £41,000, according to North East Lincolnshire Council.

Councillor Ron Shepherd said: "These illegal products are being sold on the cheap and marked to attract children."

In the past 18 months, 8,300 vapes have been seized from local businesses, the authority said.

Mr Shepherd, the council's portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities, said the criminality was "contributing to young people becoming addicted to nicotine".

He added: "People who buy illicit vapes are probably not aware of the consequences of their actions. The money you hand over ultimately ends up in the pockets of criminals."

Mr Shepherd said illegal vapes failed to meet safety standards and were known "to have an impact on the health of children".

In addition, illegal vapes were known to have "spontaneously combusted", with two such cases reported in Grimsby in the last year, he said.

Earlier this year, a BBC investigation revealed high levels of lead in vapes confiscated from schoolchildren.

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