Council ramp up action on online sales of age-restricted products

The Trading Standards team is strengthening its efforts to safeguard young people by targeting unlawful sales of age-restricted goods.

This includes the following items:

• knives
• tobacco
• vapes
• alcohol
• solvents
• fireworks
• petrol
• age-rated movies
• computer games

which must not be sold to anyone under the legal age of 18.

Knife crime figures have declined in Dorset over the years. Listen below:

London has also seen a drop in knife-crime figures. Latest figures revealed a 7% drop in knife crime offences in the twelves months to August 2025.

There was also a reduction in hospital admissions of under-25s for knife assaults in the last twelves months to June 2025.

To monitor whether businesses comply with the law, Trading Standards undertake test purchasing exercises using young volunteers.

The team has adapted its approach to reflect the growing number of young people shopping online, rather than traditional high street retailers

In Autumn 2025, Dorset Council carried out test purchases of bladed items from five different online retailers. Five items were legally ordered, with four collected through click-and-collect services and one sent for home delivery.

In all cases, the sales were refused when the young volunteer could not provide proof of age, and the home delivery was cancelled because the original purchaser was not available.

These results demonstrated that retailers are taking their responsibilities seriously. However, further action is still needed to prevent children from easily accessing harmful goods online.

Businesses that sell age-restricted products to minors risk enforcement action. Dorset Council have said they remain committed to protecting children from harm and ensuring compliance with the law.

If you think a business is selling age-restricted products to under-18s, contact Trading Standards via