A Bolton off-licence lost its licence over a chute for sending illicit cigarettes to the shop floor from the flat on the first floor.

Bolton Council officers discovered the sophisticated system at California Wines, Wigan Road in Deane, on September 26 last year.

Trading Standards said the chute to send illicit cigarettes to the shop floor showed "the clear criminal intention" of the off-licence owned by Masoud Salimi of M&N Store Limited.

They applied for its licence to be reviewed and, last week, it was reviewed by a licensing committee consisting of councillors David Chadwick, Sean Fielding and Debbie Newall.

The Bolton News: A chute sent illicit cigarettes to the shop floor

A report said: "The machine pushed pressure down to pistons and these pistons pushed packets down a chute. There were eight different buttons and eight different brands of cigarettes.

"The sophistication of this concealment highlights how lucrative this illegal activity is, the clear criminal intention of the operators of these premises and how organised this illegal activity is."

Trading Standards seized a total of more than 80 vapes, more than 8,000 cigarettes and around two and a half kilos of tobacco, some of which was thrown onto the roof in black bin bags whilst they were in attendance.

A representative of Mr Salimi said he was not aware of the illegal activity at the shop and he was in the process of transferring the lease at the shop but officers said not to be aware of the illegal activity was "impossible".

The Bolton News: A chute sent illicit cigarettes to the shop floor

The representative said: "He is ending his relationship with the shop and revocation of the licence would punish the new leaseholder.

"I invite you to see this as a situation where a warning or a suspension is appropriate in the circumstances. Certainly a suspension provides a punishment for the time Mr Salimi is responsible for the shop and it would allow the new leaseholder to take over without any impact."

Afterwards Cllr Chadwick, Cllr Fielding and Cllr Newall came to a consensus on the revocation of the licence. California Wines can no longer sell alcohol, although it can sell tobacco, because this is not a licensable activity.

Mr Salimi is allowed to appeal.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.