Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Shop shut down over ‘ongoing criminality’ loses licence

Shop shut down over ‘ongoing criminality’ loses licence
Grab & Go store on Lawrence Road, Wavertree in Liverpool (Photo: Google Street View)

By: David Humphreys, Local Democracy Reporter

A convenience store in Wavertree shut down over selling thousands of illegal cigarettes has been slapped with further sanctions by Liverpool Council. Grab & Go on Lawrence Road was made the subject of a closure order by the local authority in July as a result of “ongoing criminality.”


Following a review by the city’s licensing and gambling sub-committee, its licence to trade items like cigarettes and alcohol has now been revoked. The shop was before the courts earlier this summer as part of Liverpool Council’s ongoing clampdown over illicit sales.

The committee was given a representation by Daniel Blowes from the council’s trading standards team. It said: “Grab & Go have been subject to a 3 month closure order following ongoing criminality at the premises, with them continuing to sell illicit counterfeit/smuggled non-duty paid cigarettes, tobacco and vapes.”

Mr Blowes said how over the course of the last two years, counterfeit and smuggled goods worth almost £4,000 had been seized from the store. This included 5,100 cigarettes, 54 pouches of tobacco and 180 vapes, some of which were hidden in boxes on top of fridges which required access via a ladder.

The officer wrote: “The premises continued to sell illicit products, despite being advised and warned to stop selling these and being offered guidance and advice by our team. The premises received two written warning letters, along with several verbal warnings following each seizure at the premises.”

A series of undercover test purchases were made by officers, four for cigarettes and two for vapes. Latest figures indicate more than 30,200 vapes valued at £362,736 have been collected by authorities.

Earlier this summer, the Local Democracy Reporting Service joined the alcohol and tobacco unit as locations in Allerton and Garston were closed down. Three individuals were also sentenced at Liverpool Magistrates Court in August for selling vapes to teenagers, including products such as a watermelon Elf Bar pen.

As a result of the closure order secured in July, Grab & Go must not open its doors until at least October. After this point, licence holder Sanhan Ismail Mahmood will not be able to sell licensable goods, such as alcohol or cigarettes, subject to an appeal period.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)

More for you

A woman enters the Selfridges department store

A woman enters the Selfridges department store on December 13, 2024 in London, England

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Retail faces mixed fortunes in 2025 amid cost pressures, AI opportunities, and high street revival


The UK retail sector is bracing for a challenging but opportunity-filled 2025, according to Jacqui Baker, head of retail at RSM UK. While the industry grapples with rising costs and heightened crime, advancements in artificial intelligence and a revival of the high street offer potential pathways to growth, she said.

Keep ReadingShow less
unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend

Unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend

Photo: Southend-on-Sea City Council

1,100 unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend safety crackdown

Southend-on-Sea City Council officials have secured food condemnation orders from Chelmsford Magistrates Court, resulting in the seizure and destruction of 1,100 unauthorised soft drinks.

The condemned drinks, including Mountain Dew, 7-UP, Mirinda, and G Fuel energy drinks, were found during routine inspections of food businesses across Southend by the council’s environmental health officers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross Shopping centre in north London

A customer browses clothes inside Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross Shopping centre in north London on, December 17, 2024

Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Brits kindle Christmas spirit with second-hand gifts

Bursting with customers one afternoon the week before Christmas, a second-hand charity shop in London's Marylebone High Street looked even busier than the upscale retailers surrounding it.

One man grabbed two puzzle sets and a giant plush toy as a present for friends, another picked out a notebook for his wife.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nothing is more important than your Mental Elf

Nothing is more important than your Mental Elf

Lancashire Mind’s 11th Mental Elf fun run was its biggest and best yet – a sell-out event with more than 400 people running and walking in aid of the mental charity, plus dozens more volunteering to make the day a huge success.

The winter sun shone on Worden Park in Leyland as families gathered for either a 5K course, a 2K run, or a Challenge Yours’Elf distance which saw many people running 10K with the usual running gear replaced with jazzy elf leggings, tinsel and Christmas hats.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman walks past a window display promoting an ongoing sale

A woman walks past a window display promoting an ongoing sale, on December 13, 2024 in London, England.

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Retail sales disappoint before Christmas

UK retail sales rose less than expected in the runup to Christmas, according to official data Friday that deals a fresh blow to government hopes of growing the economy.

Separate figures revealed a temporary reprieve for prime minister Keir Starmer, however, as public borrowing fell sharply in November.

Keep ReadingShow less