A MAN has discovered that buying buying cigarettes for an under-age youth can be very expensive.

James Pugh, of High Street, Northallerton, was seen by CCTV operators at Hambleton District Council talking to two youths outside an off-licence in the town on June 4 last year.

He went into the shop and when he came out handed a packet of ten cigarettes to one of the youths. Enquiries revealed the youth to be 15-years-old.

Pugh pleaded guilty to the offence at a hearing at Northallerton Magistrates’ Court.

He was fined £200 and ordered to pay costs and a victim surcharge.

It was the first prosecution by North Yorkshire Trading Standards under the new provisions of the Children and Families Act 2014, which prohibit proxy sales of tobacco – that is an adult buying for someone under 18.

The county’s executive member for trading standards, Cllr Chris Metcalfe, said afterwards: “It might seem like a bit of fun to help a teenager get hold of tobacco or alcohol, but you could be contributing to a lifelong addiction and the fine and costs imposed by the court should act as a warning to anyone tempted to buy these products for a young person.”