Hundreds of illegal vapes have been seized from shops in Canterbury - just weeks after a KentOnline investigation revealed several retailers were selling illicit goods.

Trading Standards, police and the city council swooped on the stores to check compliance of disposable e-cigarettes for sale.

More than 5,000 fake goods and 755 illegal vapes were seized from six shops, including iRepair, iCrack and iCrash.

The raids come after a KentOnline revealed the scale of the issue on the city's high street.

Reporter Jack Dyson found at least five retailers in the centre of Canterbury selling illicit goods that had been surreptitiously shipped in from overseas.

Posing as an e-cigarette user, he visited the businesses along the city's main shopping thoroughfares, where he was sold illegal disposable vapes ranging in price from £15 to £20.

A number of the stores were displaying the devices in their windows. At one a brazen employee boasted of the high demand he receives for the contraband, before offering our man cut-price deals on others.

Trading Standards and police were seen at the stores yesterday taking away a number of products.

The county council has since confirmed its workers visited the shops to check the compliance of disposable e-cigarette devices for sale.

In total, 755 illegal vapes were seized which were either over the legal size or were not otherwise legal for supply in the UK.

Officers also took away 5,148 fake goods with trademark infringement and 105 suspected unsafe electrical products.

KCC Trading Standards operations manager Clive Phillips said: "These visits send a clear message that illicit products will be removed from the market to ensure we have a fair-trading environment in Kent.

"We understand, with a cost of living crisis, that people will be looking to save money but the products seized today were unsafe and likely to fund organised crime.

"Trading Standards use intelligence gathered from retail visits like these carried out today to identify points of supply into the UK, which for example last week led to over 16,000 illegal e-cigarettes devices being seized at the Port of Dover."

Meanwhile, PC Jim Gall, from the Canterbury Community Safety Unit, says illict tobacco and vaping equipment which do not meet UK standards are "potentially dangerous to the public".

He also says the sale of the items has a "detrimental impact on law-abiding businesses".

"The source of and profits made from counterfeit products is also a concern," he said.

"For those reasons, Kent Police will continue to work with partner agencies to monitor what is being sold in our town and city centres and take action to keep residents safe."

Following KentOnline's e-cigarette investigation in October, the results of the probe sparked fears punters are in the dark about the chemicals they are inhaling - as none of the goods had been analysed by regulators before hitting shelves.

Our reporter visited the Repair Hub in High Street; iCrash Mobiles, a few doors down from Pizza Hut; iRepair and iRepair Tech, both in St George’s Street; and a second iCrash store, in the old Dorothy Perkins site.

The majority of the vapes purchased boasted a liquid capacity of 10ml – five times the legal limit – and none had been checked by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Experts stress e-cigarettes that comply with UK guidelines tend to offer a maximum of 800 puffs before running empty – but the ones bought by our undercover reporter claimed they could be used 1,500, 3,500 and even 9,000 times.

The city council's enforcement manager, Lacy Dixon, said: "It is imperative that we pool our resources to ensure everyone continues to stay safe, whether you live, work or study in Canterbury, along with the visitors we welcome with open arms."

In a separate visit carried out by Trading Standards in Canterbury, 1,560 illicit cigarettes and more than a kilo of hand rolling tobacco were seized as they were found to be either counterfeit or without the correct health warnings for the UK.