Belfast trader fined £1,200 for selling nicotine product to child and temporarily banned from selling tobacco
Trader Michael O'Reilly pleaded guilty to the offence at Belfast Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The case was taken by Belfast City Council against the defendant from O'Reilly's shop on Donegall Street in the city.
It followed a test purchase at the premises which was organised by officers from the local authority which confirmed Mr O'Reilly sold a nicotine inhaling product to a young person under the age of 18.
The transaction was contrary to the Tobacco Retailers Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 which makes it illegal for a retailer to sell either tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products – including vapes – to children.
O'Reilly's shop is currently subject to an 18 month Restricted Premises Order and defendant is subject to a 18 month Restricted Sales Order preventing the sale of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products.
Mr O'Reilly was fined £1,200 and ordered to pay costs of £78.
Belfast City Council has urged anyone who has concerns or information about illegal or underage sales of such goods to contact its Tobacco Control Team on 028 9027 0428.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
18 minutes ago
- The Sun
Sick moment vile yob shouts ‘f*** foreigners' while setting family's home on FIRE in ‘racist' riot carnage
THIS is the vile moment yobs shouted "f*** foreigners" while setting a family's home on fire in "racist" riot carnage. Hundreds gathered on the streets of Ballymena in Northern Ireland on Wednesday facing police armed with riot shields and water cannon on the third night of anti-immigrant demonstrations. 7 7 7 Video footage emerged on social media today showing masked thugs breaking into a house and stoking a fire in the kitchen. It is unclear who the property belonged to, but a man filming the scenes on his phone can be heard screaming "f*** off foreigners". He grabs a kettle and while thrusting it into the air in front of a group of thugs, he shouts "yes! f*** the foreigners". The protests erupted in the northern town of Ballymena after the arrest of two teenagers accused of attempting to rape a young girl. The pair appeared Monday in court, where they asked for a Romanian interpreter. Police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the teenagers, who remain in custody, but areas attacked on Monday and Tuesday included neighbourhoods where Romanian migrants live. Ministers from every party in the province's power-sharing executive strongly condemned "the racially motivated violence witnessed in recent days". Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the unrest in Ballymena "mindless violence". Around 20 miles southeast of the town, masked men set a leisure centre in Larne on fire. The centre was temporarily sheltering people from Ballymena who had been evacuated. Masked yobs set fire to NI leisure centre 'used to house locals fleeing riots' as violence hits Ballymena for 3rd night People living in Ballymena described "terrifying" scenes in which attackers had targeted "foreigners" over the previous days. Some people fixed signs to their houses indicating they were Filipino residents, or hung up British flags. Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill, the Sinn Fein vice-president, called the violence "abhorrent". The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said in a statement that its officers "came under sustained attack over a number of hours with multiple petrol bombs, heavy masonry, bricks and fireworks in their direction". Some of the injured officers required hospital treatment. Police Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson on Tuesday denounced the violence as "racist thuggery" and said it was "clearly racially motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and police". 7 7 7 7
BreakingNews.ie
an hour ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Three teens charged following violence in Ballymena
Three teenagers have been charged following disorder in Ballymena. The three males, aged 15, 17 and 18 years, have been charged with riot, while the 15-year-old has also been charged with criminal damage following scenes in the Co Antrim town on Tuesday night. Advertisement They are to appear before Ballymena Magistrates' Court later. Meanwhile, two other teenage boys who were arrested during the disorder have been released on bail to allow for further police inquiries. A PSNI vehicle near to debris on fire during a third night of disorder in Ballymena, Co Antrim (Liam McBurney/PA) Police in Northern Ireland condemned a third consecutive night of 'completely unacceptable' disorder on Thursday morning. They said on Wednesday night in Ballymena, their officers came under sustained attack with multiple petrol bombs, a hatchet, heavy masonry, bricks and fireworks thrown at them. Advertisement Officers responded with water cannon, dogs and plastic baton rounds in an attempt to disperse crowds in the town. Nine officers were injured, while two men, aged in their 20s, and one in their 30s, along with two teenagers, were arrested on suspicion of riotous behaviour and other offences in connection with the disorder on Wednesday. Police said officers discharged a number of Attenuating Energy Projectiles (AEPs) and the water cannon was deployed once again in an attempt to disperse and calm crowds. Meanwhile, police said they responded to an attack on the local leisure centre in Larne. Advertisement Masked protesters blocked local roads in the Marine Highway area of Carrickfergus, a teenager was arrested in Newtownabbey following disorder in the Station Road area and in Coleraine, a bus was attacked, bins were set alight on the train tracks, and petrol bombs were thrown at police. They added that associated protests passed without incident in the Antrim and Lisburn areas, and there were mainly peaceful protests in Belfast. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson speaks during a press conference at PSNI headquarters in east Belfast on Wednesday (Rebecca Black/PA) Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said there was a significant policing operation on Wednesday night. 'What we witnessed last night has caused fear and huge disruption within our communities, including to our local transport network and community services,' he said. Advertisement 'Police officers came under attack from petrol bombs, fireworks and heavy masonry. 'A hatchet was also thrown at police lines during this disorder in a clear attempt to seriously injure our officers, and I thank them once again for their continued efforts putting themselves on the line keeping our streets safe. 'We made six arrests last night during this disorder, and more will follow. We are working hard to identify all those responsible in this criminal disorder, and those involved will be dealt with using the full force of the law. Firefighters outside Larne Leisure Centre following a fire and vandalism at the facility (Liam McBurney/PA) 'We are now in the process of gathering evidence, CCTV and other footage of yesterday's disorder, and anyone who has information or who can help identify those responsible is asked to contact police on 101. Advertisement 'I would strongly urge anyone who was involved in yesterday's rioting and disorder to think long and hard about their actions and its impact. I would also appeal for calm voices and cool heads to reduce tensions.' Earlier, Secretary of State Hilary Benn described scenes as 'shocking', adding there is 'absolutely no justification for civil disorder'. He told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme: 'This is not what Northern Ireland is about, this is not what we want the rest of the world to see. 'We all, as elected representatives, have a responsibility to seek to calm things down, to support those in the community trying to keep people safe, principally the PSNI, to work with community leaders to lower tensions. 'Whatever views people hold, there is no justification for trying to burn people out of their homes, that is what is going on, and that is what needs to stop because it is shocking and damaging, and it reflects very badly of the image of Northern Ireland that we all want to send to the rest of the world.' Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long said it has been a 'three-day festival of hate and destruction' which needs to stop before someone loses their life. She said she will be seeking additional funding for the PSNI in the June Monitoring Round. She also commended the PSNI for seeking support through a mutual aid request for additional officers from Great Britain. 'This is not just a few days of violence, this has been wanton destruction on a huge scale, and any police service in these islands who are dealing with this kind of pressure, dealing with the number of officers, now close to 50, who have been injured in the last few days, would clearly be feeling the challenge and the strain,' she told the BBC. Wednesday marked the third night of violence in Ballymena (Jonathan McCambridge/PA) The leisure centre had temporarily been used as an emergency shelter for those in urgent need following disturbances in Ballymena earlier in the week. Northern Ireland's Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, who highlighted the use of the building in a social media post, said all those who had been staying at the leisure centre are in the care of the Housing Executive and have been moved out of Larne. SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole, the leader of the opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said he would refer Mr Lyons to the standards commission following the fire. In the town on Wednesday, the PSNI deployed riot police for a third night in a row as hundreds gathered around the Clonavon Terrace area. At least one protester was struck by plastic baton rounds fired by police, while officers also used a water cannon on the crowd. Officers used dog units and drones in their response to the gathering. Riot police with shields advanced on the crowd to disperse them down Bridge Street onto other roads. PSNI vehicles formed a barricade outside The Braid, Ballymena Town Hall Museum and Arts Centre (Liam McBurney/PA) They came under sustained attack as those participating in the disorder hurled petrol bombs, masonry and fireworks at police vehicles and officers standing nearby. Rioters smashed the windows of a house on North Street and set multiple fires on streets in the surrounding area. The disorder and stand-off with police continued past midnight. The PSNI have also noted scenes of disorder in Belfast, Lisburn, Carrickfergus and Newtownabbey earlier in the week, as businesses, homes and cars were attacked and damaged. By Wednesday, six individuals had been arrested for public order offences, and one was charged. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he 'utterly condemns' violence which left 32 police officers injured after the second night of disturbances. Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, right, met residents in Clonavon Terrace on Tuesday (Niall Carson/PA) PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has warned the rioting 'risks undermining' the criminal justice process into an allegation of a sex attack on a teenage girl in Ballymena at the weekend. Stormont ministers have also made an urgent appeal for calm and said the justice process had to be allowed to take its course. Northern Ireland's First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, and Deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, appeared together on Wednesday to voice their condemnation. Sinn Féin vice-president Ms O'Neill told reporters in Belfast: 'It's pure racism, there is no other way to dress it up.' Ms Little-Pengelly described the scenes in Ballymena as 'unacceptable thuggery'. Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly speak to media at the Ulster Hall in Belfast on Wednesday (David Young/PA) With the protests focused in predominantly loyalist areas in Ballymena, Ms O'Neill said she did not believe it would be helpful for her to visit in the current context. DUP MLA Ms Little-Pengelly met residents in the town on Wednesday and said the local community are in fear and wanted the violence to stop. 'The key message here today is around that violence, and that the violence needs to stop, that's what the community wants to put across, and that's why I'm here to send that very clear and united message from right throughout the community and local residents for that to stop,' she said. The violence began around Clonavon Terrace on Monday night following an earlier peaceful protest which was organised in support of the family of a girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in the area. Two teenage boys, who spoke to a court through a Romanian interpreter, have been charged.
Sky News
an hour ago
- Sky News
Charges over Ballymena riots as centre housing foreign families attacked
Three teenagers have been charged with rioting in Ballymena - as a community centre housing migrant families affected by the violence was attacked. An 18-year-old man, and two boys aged 15 and 17, are expected to appear before Ballymena Magistrates' Court today. The 15-year-old has also been charged with criminal damage. Two other teenage boys who were arrested during the disorder have been released on bail, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said. Masked youths attacked Larne Leisure Centre and set it on fire on Wednesday evening after it emerged some of the foreign families fleeing the rioting were being temporarily held there. There have been calls for Northern Ireland's communities minister to resign after he was accused of inflaming tensions in a social media post. Prior to the attack, he wrote he had been made aware individuals had been "temporarily moved" to the building "following the disturbances in Ballymena", which is around 25 minutes away. Police said ethnic minorities had been targeted in the violence, which they have described as "racist thuggery". 1:52 Mr Lyons said in his post: "As a local MLA for the area, neither I nor my DUP council colleagues were made aware or consulted on this decision until late this afternoon." He added: "It has now been confirmed to us by the PSNI and council that all these individuals are in the care of the Housing Executive and have been moved out of Larne. "Protesting is of course a legitimate right, but violence is not and I would encourage everyone to remain peaceful." 2:46 Some politicians have said Mr Lyons should be considering his position, while Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said it was not helpful to publicise where people had been moved. Asked if he should still be in his job, he told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme: "Absolutely." He insisted the information was already in the "public domain". Mid and East Antrim Borough Council said the leisure centre had been designated as an emergency rest centre, but the families had been safely relocated elsewhere.
