A Weston-super-Mare off licence, Orchard News, has been stripped of its alcohol licence after illegal tobacco was discovered hidden inside a Ginsters microwave. The North Somerset Council’s licensing subcommittee revealed that the shop played a major role in flooding the town centre with cheap, illegal vapes and tobacco products.
During a licensing hearing on May 3, councillors heard that on April 16, police and trading standards officers found smuggled tobacco and vapes valued at approximately £2,100 concealed throughout the shop’s stockroom and an adjacent bedroom. The contraband included hand rolling tobacco, cigarettes, and disposable vapes hidden inside crisp boxes, cereal packets, and notably inside a branded microwave intended for heating Cornish pasties.
Trading standards officer Jay Capel stated that the illegal goods lacked UK duty paid marks, indicating they had been smuggled into the country, and some may have been counterfeit. She warned the hearing that these findings likely represented just the “tip of the iceberg” of ongoing criminal activity at the premises.
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This is not the first time Orchard News has been implicated in illegal sales. In 2024, the shop was previously stripped of its licence after officers uncovered over £4,000 worth of illegal tobacco and vapes. Shop owner Gurjinder Singh received a simple caution at that time. Shortly after, Singh’s wife, Simranpreet Kaur Grewal, was granted the licence, allowing the sale of alcohol to resume.
However, suspicions persisted. In March 2025, a test purchaser reported being sold illegal cigarettes at the store, prompting a second raid in April. Mr Singh claimed the products were leftover stock from the previous year which he intended to refund or personally use, but trading standards dismissed this as implausible given the quantity seized.
Mrs Grewal, addressing the committee through an interpreter, explained that items were packed away to prevent their children, who had visited the shop, from accessing them. Licensing conditions required staff training on age-restrictions and visible signage prohibiting vape sales to under-18s, neither of which had been fulfilled. Mrs Grewal admitted to struggling to meet all licensing conditions due to childcare commitments and stated she had no direct involvement in the shop operations.
Nevertheless, Ms Capel accused both Mrs Grewal and Mr Singh of complicity and putting profit ahead of legal compliance and community safety.
Following unanimous agreement, the licensing subcommittee revoked the shop’s alcohol licence. Councillor Any Coles, chair of the subcommittee, declared: “All the conditions agreed to in 2024 have been breached. Therefore, revocation of the premises licence was necessary.”
Revocation means Orchard News cannot sell alcohol but may continue trading otherwise. Mrs Grewal confirmed the shop had been sold and was expected to change hands next month, with no plans to open another store. The new owners will have to apply for a fresh premises licence before selling alcohol.