Police have seized more than 100 vapes in Southend after an operation in the city where youngsters tried to buy age-specific items.

PCs Woodman and Woodley recently completed a 'test-purchase' operation with the help of the Southend Volunteer Police Cadets and Southend City Council's trading standards department.

These operations are fairly common and involve children making purchases of age-specific items which they are too young to buy.

Officers are always immediately on-hand, and any unlawful sales are immediately dealt-with.

More than 100 vapes were seized in Southend after the operation last week, with one shop even selling an illegal vape to a child.

An Essex Police spokesman said: "Often we target premises selling knives, alcohol, vapes and cigarettes.

"We tested eleven shops, four of which failed by selling to our cadets.

"One of these not only sold a vape to a child, but the vape was even illegal in itself, being too strong for purchase in the UK!

"Over 100 vapes were seized."