FURTHER crackdowns on illegal vaping products in Newport have led to the removal of items worth more than £5,000.

The city council said it had made "multiple visits" to shops around Newport after "UK intelligence alerts" about the sale of unsafe vape products.

Several "illegal pop-up shops" have also been discovered in the city and closed down as part of an operation against the illegal tobacco trade, a council report reveals.

And there are ongoing concerns that some traders are ignoring rules banning the sale of vapes to under-18s. Several were caught breaking this law in Newport recently. 

The most recent vaping crackdown comes after Newport City Council found 220 illegal products on sale in five shops across the city before Christmas.

The items in question were, on that occasion, worth £2,100 and were voluntarily removed from sale.

But further action by council officers means that since November, the total number of unsafe vaping products found in Newport has reached 620, and worth a total of £5,800.

All of those products were "removed from the marketplace", the council report said.

In February, council officers also investigated whether some vape shops were selling products to people below the legal age. In the UK, you must be 18 to buy and use vaping items.

Of the 11 Newport shops tested on age checks by council officers, four made illegal sales of vaping products.

The council report also highlighted problems with illegal tobacco sales in the city.

It said officers were taking part in an Illegal Tobacco Enforcement Campaign.

"This has seen several ‘illegal pop-up shops’ closed using ASB (anti-social behaviour) closure powers and investigations continue in relation to groups carrying out significant criminality," the council report said.