Shop Allegedly Caught Selling Cigarettes and Illegal Vapes to Children Faces Licence Review....
- teessidetoday
- Jun 22
- 2 min read
Store could have its licence suspended at a hearing set to take place on the 23rd June, with 'all options being explored'...
22nd June 2025
A storeowner faces being stripped of its licence to sell alcohol, after council officials reportedly claim the store was caught selling cigarettes & illegal vapes to underage customers.
The convenience store – located on Northgate on the Hartlepool Headland is licensed to sell alcohol from 8am to 11pm daily – however has come under fire following a damning report by Hartlepool Borough Council, triggering a formal application to review the premises licence, following claims an undercover operation caught the shop selling cigarettes and Rizzla papers to 14-year-old children.
Its claimed Just three days after the illegal sale, Trading Standards officers then returned to investigate. Not only was the shop’s licence holder, Mr Sangarapillai Nagenthiran, absent – but its claimed 270 illegal vapes were then found openly on display behind the counter. All of them being seized by Trading Standards...
To make matters worse, its claimed the council had specifically requested CCTV footage of the underage sale, with the shop's licence requiring it to have a fully functional CCTV system and staff to be trained in its use. Despite several reminders, its claimed the footage was never produced, with staff on-site reportedly admitting they had no training on the use of the CCTV system at all.
Council, Police and Public Health All Back Licence Review
Cleveland Police, Hartlepool Council’s Public Health Department, and Trading Standards have all issued statements backing the licence review, with the council’s statutory guidance stating: where a business undermines the prevention of crime or the protection of children from harm, revoking the licence should be seriously considered – even on a first offence.
The councils Licensing Sub-Committee is set to meet on 23rd June 2025 to decide the fate of Local Shop, with it being claimed that all options are on the table, however noting that similar incidents have led to shops undertaking similar activities having their licence automatically revoked.
Two other stores across the town have had their licences from Hartlepool Borough Council revoked in the last year, with officials saying this is a test case for how seriously Hartlepool Borough Council takes enforcement of its own licensing laws & the protection of public health...