CHILDREN could become undercover agents and buy cigarettes to test if shopkeepers are breaking the law.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has adopted the same procedures used by Lancashire County Council to crack down on the sale of tobacco to under 16s.

And the council has the power, under the 1991 Children and Young Persons Act, to send volunteer youngsters into shops at random to test out shopkeepers.

The test can also be used in specific cases where a complaint has been made to the council about a trader who has been spotted selling cigarettes to children.

If a shopkeeper is found to be breaking the law, the council has the right to bring a prosecution.

Peter Kuit, the council's assistant director of planning, trade and health, said: "Lancashire County Council has a comprehensive policy on the subject of children and tobacco and we want to adopt that.

"Blackburn's trading standards staff used to work for the old borough council so they know the patch very well and in this area unitary status has given them added momentum."

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