Thousands of illegal cigarettes have been seized from shops following a two-day operation by trading standards.

Officers from West Northamptonshire Council visited eight stores in Northampton and Daventry on 25 and 26 March and seized goods from seven of them.

The team recovered 3,743 packets of illicit cigarettes, 23kg of illegal hand-rolling tobacco, 198 illegal vapes and £10,000 in cash.

Councillor Stephen Williams, who chairs the council’s Public Health and Communities Committee, said: “The sale of illegal tobacco and non-compliant goods damages public health, deprives public services of funding through tax and duty evasion, undermines legitimate businesses and, in some cases, can be linked to wider criminality and exploitation.”