Olton shop shut until 26 November over illegal vapes

A convenience store on Warwick Road in Olton has been shut by court order until 26 November after it sold illegal tobacco and vapes, including a vape sold to a child.

Birmingham Magistrates’ Court granted Solihull Council a closure order against Boss Mart 2, 53 Warwick Road, on Wednesday 26 August. The business and its owner were ordered to pay £1,400 in costs between them. (Solihull Council, 28 August 2026)

It is the second closure order the council has obtained against the premises. The first was in 2024. The council says the illegal activity has continued since September 2025.

What the council’s officers found

Solihull Council’s Regulatory Services team investigated the shop and, according to the council, seized illegal tobacco, vapes and unsafe toys. Officers also ran test purchase operations at the premises.

During those test purchases:

• the shop sold a vape to a child
• the shop sold illegal tobacco to undercover trading standards officers

Cllr Wazma Qais, the council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, said the case showed “both the determination of our officers and the frustrations councils face when dealing with this sort of activity”.

She added: “Despite repeated enforcement action, some businesses continue to break the law, and local authorities do not always have the powers residents might expect to permanently prevent repeat offending. That makes closure orders an important tool in helping us protect the public.” (Solihull Council)

The shop was last inspected for food hygiene on 28 February 2026, when the Food Standards Agency register recorded it as rated 3, meaning generally satisfactory. (Food Standards Agency, Boss Mart 2) That is a separate register from the trading standards case and does not form part of it.

What a closure order actually does

A closure order is made against a property rather than a person. Under section 80 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, magistrates can prohibit access to premises for a maximum of three months. (legislation.gov.uk, section 80)

The Warwick Road order runs the full three months, from 26 August to 26 November.

The court has to be satisfied of two things before it can make the order. First, that someone has engaged, or is likely to engage, in disorderly, offensive or criminal behaviour on the premises, or that the use of the premises has caused serious nuisance, or that there has been associated disorder nearby. Second, that closing the premises is necessary to stop that continuing. (legislation.gov.uk, section 80)

The order bars everyone from entering or remaining at the shop except three named groups: the landlord, the landlord’s contractors, and the emergency services.

Breaching a closure order is a criminal offence. On summary conviction it carries up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. (legislation.gov.uk, section 86)

What it means for you

• The shop is closed and staying closed until 26 November. Entering it during that time is an offence for anyone other than the landlord, the landlord’s contractors or the emergency services, and can lead to arrest.
• Illegal vapes and tobacco are a trading standards matter, not a police one, in the first instance. The council asks residents to report concerns to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133, which passes reports to trading standards. West Midlands Police can be contacted on 101 or through its live chat.
• The council says its powers are limited. Cllr Qais’ statement is unusually blunt about it: this is a second order on the same shop, and a closure order lasts three months at most before the premises can trade again.
• Age of sale still applies to vapes. The test purchase in this case involved a sale to a child. If you see that happening in a shop in the borough, it is reportable through the same Citizens Advice route.

What else is trading in Olton is listed in our Olton and B92 business directory and across the borough in our Solihull business directory. Recorded crime for your own street is on police.uk’s your-area maps.

Sources

• Solihull Council, Closure Order granted to Solihull Council after convenience store sold illegal items, published 28 August 2026 (the 26 August hearing at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, the premises and address, the £1,400 costs, the previous 2024 order, activity continuing since September 2025, the seizures and test purchases, the terms of the order and the 26 November expiry, and Cllr Wazma Qais’ statement)
• legislation.gov.uk, Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, section 80 (the power to make a closure order, the three-month maximum, and the tests the court must be satisfied of)
• legislation.gov.uk, Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, section 86 (breach of a closure order and the maximum penalty of 51 weeks’ imprisonment and/or a fine)
• Food Standards Agency, Boss Mart 2 food hygiene rating (rated 3, inspected 28 February 2026)

Image: Former Methodist chapel, Warwick Road, Olton, by A J Paxton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph and Wikimedia Commons: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Former_Methodist_chapel,Warwick_Road,_Olton-geograph.org.uk-_7950720.jpg. The photo shows the road, not the premises named in this article. Graphic by The Solihull Post.