Fined for selling skin bleachers

Sales of illegal skin-lightening products are rampant in some communities, and in 2016 I reported how watchdogs had prosecuted three shops in a single street in South London.

Now make that four.

Banaras Hussain was caught selling cosmetics at his shop in Rye Lane, Peckham, that contained illegal levels of hydroquinone and corticosteroids, which can cause cancer and irreversible skin damage.

Trading standards officers from Southwark Council seized 2,500 products hidden in a concealed storage area.

Banaras, 50, was ordered to pay almost £26,000 in fines and costs at Inner London Crown Court.

The former director of Shaba Hair & Cosmetics (Peckham) Limited has convictions for similar offences in Southwark and branches in Hackney and Enfield.