A NEWSAGENT has warned her shop is being hit by illicit tobacco sales in Swindon, which are being made worse by constant Government tax hikes.

Rosemary Earle, the co-owner of MI Earle in Newport Street, Old Town, also believes a proposal to introduce plain packaging will only fuel the black market.

She said smokers in the town are increasingly turning to illegal traders to buy tobacco and responsible retailers are being priced out of the market.

“It’s all to do with the price,” Rosemary said.

“Cigarettes supply a considerable amount of cash to the Government through tax increases but the price has kept rising and people have shopped around like with any other product.”

“It has got to the stage where many are buying imported or fake goods, which include some horrific concoctions of things like fibreglass and rat droppings.

“About 30 per cent of the revenue due to the exchequer is being lost because of this.

“The authorities are unable to deal with it because once one shop closes down another opens.”

Mrs Earle, who has run her shop with her husband Myles for 38 years, has noticed a drop-off in trade due to the town’s illegal supply.

She said: “It has hurt our footfall because when people come in for cigarettes they begin using the shop to buy other things.

“A lot of people will come in and buy a lighter and rolling papers but will go and buy the tobacco elsewhere.

“We also buy our cigarettes directly from the manufacturer with good terms and time to pay.

“If we can’t purchase in quantity we will have to go to the cash and carry where it is more expensive and the money has to be paid upfront.”

Mrs Earle also believes proposals to introduce plain packaging for cigarettes, which formed part of a consultation by the Government, are an own-goal She said: “Having plain packaging would only make it easier for the bootleggers to produce fakes.

“At the same time, the increase in tax will lead to more people buying counterfeits or imports.

“People will end up smoking more, for the simple reason they buy black market cigarettes in greater quantities.”

In April counterfeit cigarettes and illegal tobacco were seized in a major operation by Swindon Council and Wiltshire police.

There were raids on four stores in Manchester Road and in one 340 suspected illegal cigarettes and 400g of tobacco were found.