Fined for firework sale without £500 licence
ASHOPKEEPER has admitted selling a firework outside the permitted period of sale after being caught by Hillingdon Council’s Trading Standards.
Eastcote Stores Ltd, trading as Budgens, and company director Thambidurai Piruthuviraj admitted the charge at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, August 19.
Laws controlling the sale of fireworks came into force in 2004 in order to reduce the nuisance caused when they are not used properly.
Retailers are not permitted to sell fireworks between November 10 and December 26 without a licence, which costs £500. Despite Budgens in Field End Road, Eastcote, not having such a licence, a Trading Standards officer was able to buy a firework there on December 17 last year.
Leaflets, posters and a chalk board on the pavement outside the shop advertised the fireworks for sale.
Councillor Jonathan Bianco, cabinet member for finance, property and business services, said: “Misusing fireworks can have serious consequences, which is why the government introduced laws to regulate where and when they are sold. Hillingdon Council is committed to protecting local people by taking businesses to court when they do not follow the rules.”
The company and Mr Piruthuviraj were each fined £180 and ordered to pay costs of £553 and a £20 victim surcharge.
Six traders in Hillingdon have paid the £500 to license their premises for the sale of fireworks all year round. Shops without a licence can only sell fireworks from October 15 to November 10, from December 26 to 31, on the day of Diwali and the three days preceding it, and on the first day of the Chinese New Year and the three days preceding it. IF we have published anything that is factually inaccurate, please contact the Editor on 01895 451 000, at kim.chapman@trinitymirror.com or at Uxbridge Gazette, Trinity Mirror Southern, c/o Trinity Mirror Colour Print, St Albans Road, Watford, Herts, WD24 7RG and, once verified, we will correct it as soon as possible.
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