Havering shops checked over knife and vape sales

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Knives and vapes targeted in underage sales checks
Trading Standards action across Havering

By Beehive Web Newsdesk

Havering Council’s Trading Standards team has carried out checks across the borough aimed at preventing retailers from selling knives and vapes to under-18s.

The council said officers had been out locally as part of work focused on age-restricted products. The action was directed at shops that sell items which cannot legally be supplied to young people aged under 18.

Knives and vapes targeted in underage sales checks

The products named by the council were knives and vapes, both of which carry age restrictions in retail settings.

Trading Standards checks are used by councils to test whether businesses are applying those restrictions properly at the point of sale. For residents, the focus is on whether local shops are asking for proof of age and refusing sales where the buyer is under the legal threshold.

The latest update follows wider concern around access to vapes by children and the risks linked to young people being able to buy bladed items. Havering has previously seen enforcement activity around vape sales, including a Hornchurch underage vape sale investigation.

Havering shops checked over knife and vape sales

Trading Standards action across Havering

Havering Council said its Trading Standards team had been out across the borough to stop local retailers selling age-restricted products to young people aged under 18.

The council notice did not name specific premises, say how many shops were visited, or state whether any enforcement action had followed from the checks.

The update was published by Havering Council, which is responsible for local Trading Standards enforcement in the borough. Any further action, such as warnings, investigations or penalties, would depend on what officers found during the operation and the evidence available from the checks.

The same council notice also advised residents that website updates were scheduled for Thursday 4 June 2026 between 8.30am and 9am, with possible intermittent connection issues during that period.

Source: London Borough of Havering