Counterfeit tobacco worth an estimated £6,800 has been seized by Gloucestershire County Council's trading standards team.

A Coleford shop owner who has previously been linked to the sale of illegal tobacco is suspected of hiding the stash in a car to avoid getting caught again.

Trading standards officers forced entry to the vehicle following a tip-off from Gloucestershire Police early on Tuesday morning. The car was fitted with a metal grille over the rear window that protected the illegal contents in the back.

On further investigation, officers also found more cigarettes and tobacco in a food waste bin at the rear of the shop.

A total of 646 packets of cigarettes and 382 packs of 50g hand rolling tobacco were discovered. Counterfeit brands included Richmond, Mayfair, Amber Leaf and Jin Ling.

The car has been seized by Gloucestershire Police as it had been declared SORN (off road) but was on the public highway. Had the cigarettes and tobacco been sold, they would have made the shop an estimated £6,800.

The sale of illegal tobacco is not a victimless crime. Illegal tobacco has been found to contain ingredients including human excrement, asbestos and dead flies. Because illegal cigarettes are around half the price of legal ones they make it easier for children to take up the habit, encourage people to smoke more and make it harder for smokers to quit.

In addition:

* It is reported that illegal tobacco is responsible for four times as many deaths as drugs, and that 4,000 fewer people would die each year from smoking-related illnesses in the UK if tobacco smuggling were wiped out.

* Illegal tobacco brings both low-level and large-scale organised crime into the community.

* It also has an effect on the local economy by taking customers from legitimate businesses.