Hertfordshire retailers have refused sales of e-cigarettes to under-18s, an investigation has shown.

Hertfordshire Trading Standards officers carried out 19 visits to retailers as part of the investigation and found that all stores refused to sell the products to those considered underage.

The county has now become the only area in the study to have a zero per cent sales rate to underage customers.

Although there is currently no legal restriction on the age to which e-cigarettes may be sold, most products carry a voluntary age warning that they are not for sale to under 18s.

Councillor Richard Thake, who is responsible for community safety and planning, said: “We are very pleased that Hertfordshire performed so well in this study, it is real testament to the excellent partnership working between our public health and trading standards colleagues to ensure that the health, safety and wellbeing of Hertfordshire’s young people is protected.

“Our trading standards officers have worked extremely closely with businesses in Hertfordshire to provide training and education on age restricted products. Many products do not contain a voluntary age warning so we have raised awareness of the issue so that retailers are aware of their legal responsibilities.”