"HELLO, mate, 10 Lambert and Butler please."

A simple request, met with a positive reaction on too many occasions.

Carrying only his provisional driving licence and some pocket change, 16-year-old Luke Pidgeon hit the jackpot when he tried to buy cigarettes this week.

During a busy morning, the New College student visited supermarkets, corner shops and convenience stores to see if the new laws which raised the legal age were working.

Starting from Wroughton, he chanced his arm at six outlets - and only one refused him.

Since August shops have been plastered with guides to the new legislation, which increased the age limit for selling tobacco from 16 to 18, and the new law took effect on Monday.

Many shops have adopted the Think 21' policy, which instructs them to challenge any buyer looking younger than that age.

And during Luke's shopping trip one worker even wore a Think 21' T-shirt as they served him.

But none of it seems to have had the desired effect when it came to clamping down on illegal sales.

First stop was Martin's at the Ellendune Centre in Wroughton around 11am for a packet of Marlboro reds.

There the 17-year-old shopkeeper took a moment to consider before asking Luke if he was 18. He had been told to play it straight, so he said no and left empty-handed.

When we revealed Luke's identity, worker David Stacey revealed he had a bit of insider information.

He said: "I actually recognise him from round here so I knew he wasn't likely to be old enough.

"But we have been tightening up on sales for a few weeks in preparation for the change of law."

Luke was not sure if anyone would serve him, but we continued into Swindon.

At the Best-one Xpress in Clifton Street he changed his order to Lambert and Butler and got lucky.

Shopkeeper Mohamed Dasim said afterwards he could not believe Luke was under 18.

"He looks way older than he is and I would have been embarrassed to ask him for identification.

"But this has certainly given me a wake-up call and we will be much tougher from now on."

The first two stores were quite small so we decided to try the Tesco Extra in Ocotal Way.

Luke had previously been refused a sale at the 24-hour supermarket and he expected to be given the same treatment.

But he was not, and staff were crestfallen when we produced his ID.

A Tesco spokesman said: "We have introduced the Think 21' policy on tobacco which means that anyone who looks under 21 - as opposed to under 18 - should be asked to produce ID, so this is an error for which we apologise.

"While staff have been trained and are familiar with the new change it may take a day or two to really bed down - our stance on under-age sales remains the same - that we take our responsibilities extremely seriously."

After leaving Tesco we went to One Stop at The Circle in Pinehurst, to see if results varied from area to area.

But again the shopkeeper smiled and fetched the cigarettes within a moment of Luke asking.

Shop worker Laura Collins said: "We have training and I make regular age checks. I don't know why I didn't this time."

By the time Luke had arrived at the Co-op Swift Shop in Clive Parade he was well in the swing of things, and asking for cigarettes was a breeze.

"It just seems to be easy if you look at them believing you are 18," Luke said.

"I expected many more people to ask me for my licence."

Assistant manager Darren Wickel said the staff had gone through a full training programme and omitting to ask for ID was an isolated mistake.

"The staff have been given lots of information and it is displayed prominently throughout, so it's not the case that we are ignoring this change.

"The individual who served Mr Pidgeon is a new employee so she will be given fresh training to help her take on the legislation."

As a non-smoker Luke's nicotine needs were more than satisfied by this point, so we finished with a visit to Asda Wal-Mart at the Orbital Retail Park.

For the last time Luke requested 10 Lambert and Butler, and for the final time the shop worker handed over the grey and blue package.

Duty manager Paul Davis said: "This is very much an exception and was probably caused by the fact that the test buyer looks quite old.

"We have a strict record of refusals - there is a log at the customer service desk - and once one member of staff has said no there is no way they can be overruled.

"We take our responsibility in this area very seriously."