A Kidlington shop owner and his store manager have been ordered to pay a total of £2,385 for selling cigarettes to an underage buyer during a check by Oxfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service.

Soran Salih, who runs Wisla Supermarket at 12 The Parade, was prosecuted after manager, Erfran Gharib, sold a packet of Berkley Blue cigarettes to a trading standards volunteer, who was only 17.

The pair pleaded guilty at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, January 10. The Court heard a visit was made to the shop on April 5, where Mr Gharib was advised on ways to prevent selling age-restricted products to underage customers.

However, just a few days later, when the test purchaser asked to buy some cigarettes, he made the sale without any checks.

Mr Salih, 33, of The Parade, Kidlington was fined £1000 with £500 costs and £100 victim surcharge. Mr Gharib, 34, also of Kidlington, was fined £500 with £235 costs and £50 victim surcharge.