Nine shops across Boston and South Holland issued with closure orders

Nine shops across Boston and South Holland have been issued with closure orders for the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes.

Closure orders will be in place for three months.

Last week, in collaboration with our partners at Lincolnshire Trading Standards, officers from Boston, Spalding and Holbeach visited premises where illegal tobacco and vape products were sold. Court orders were then granted under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, at:

• Nasza Biedronka, Spalding
• Easy Shop, Spalding
• Holbeach Market, High Street, Holbeach
• The Fruit Shop, Biedronka, and Mini Market all on the High Street in Boston
• Kubus on Red Lion Street in Boston
• Europa on Fydell Street in Boston
• Balkans Mini Market on West Street in Boston

Inspector Matt Dickinson says the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes won’t be tolerated in the district.

He said, "My message to those who want to operate these illegal shops and take advantage of the local community by selling cheap but dangerous counterfeit products is, we will deal with you.

"And while legislation can be limited, we will deal with you robustly. We will use every piece of legislation that's available to prosecute you and hit you where it hurts. We will hit your pockets; we will close your shops and we will look to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

One of the closures in Boston resulted in police having a foot chase after a male fled from the rear of a premises. He was detained following assistance from the town CCTV system.

Andy Wright, Principal Trading Standards Officer said, “The shop closures in Boston come after 3 similar closures in Spalding earlier this week. The closures were granted on the basis of criminal activity taking place on the premises. We’ve been working closely on this with Police, Community Cohesion, and Immigration Officers both in Boston and Spalding.

“The closures are as a direct response to concerns expressed by members of the public through the Police ‘Streetsafe’ initiative. Streetsafe allows members of the public to anonymously report areas in which they feel unsafe or vulnerable. I don’t think it is a coincidence that many of the illegal businesses forcibly closed are to be found within those areas.”

“It is our intention to ensure that future investment in these towns is made on the foundations of a law-abiding business community.  We fully intend to step up actions over the next year.”