Parents in Calne may be reassured to know that all stores in our town passed recent tests when Wiltshire Police cadets visted local shops to try and purchase vapes.
Vapes have an age restriction of 18, but amid growing concern of the rise in popularity among children, coupled with the fact we still don't know the long term impact of vaping, Wiltshire cadets visited the shops to see if they were able to buy the vapes without being challenged on age.
A total of nine stores in Chippenham, Calne and Corsham were visited on Friday night, 22nd March, by police cadets aged 16 to 17.
All stores in Chippenham and Calne passed the tests with shop workers challenging the cadets and asking for ID.
Two stores in Corsham failed the tests – Londis in Pickwick Road and the Premier store in Colerne Market Place.
Sgt Michael Tripp said: “It is really important to us as Neighbourhood officers that we are protecting our young people from harm, and this includes the increasing use of vapes.
"Using our volunteer police cadets enables us to put our local premises to the test safely, and helping the local Neighbourhood teams with crime prevention initiatives like this is an important activity for the cadets and we were grateful for their help.
“We were pleased that the majority of premises challenged the cadets and refused sale. We will now work closely with the premises which failed.”
Police gave the guilty shop staff words of advice and say follow up visits will be arranged to discuss next steps.
