Cheltenham Magistrates' Court Sentencing Results

Martin Nistor, a former shop owner, operated International Mini Market at 155 Barton Street, Gloucester, between August 2021 and March 2023, where illegal cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco were regularly sold. Undercover trading standards officers made several purchases of illegal tobacco from the shop in January, February, and March 2023, with cigarettes sold for £7.50 per packet. These products lacked proper English labelling, health warnings, and were not intended for the UK market. On March 24, 2023, a search warrant on a vehicle linked to the shop revealed 307 packets of cigarettes worth around £2,700 and 47 pouches of hand rolling tobacco. The shop was closed via a closure order on March 29, 2023, as part of Operation Vanquish.

Gregory Games illegally dumped an old shed, timber planks, wood, and roof material on the public highway and Forestry England land at Pope’s Hill in the Forest of Dean on December 1, 2023. The incident was reported by a member of the public, and despite requests from Street Wardens and Forestry England to remove the waste, he failed to do so, leading to enforcement action by Forest of Dean District Council.

Charlotte Mace, 33, of Foxglove Close, Moreton-in-Marsh, used threatening, abusive and insulting words and behaviour with intent to cause fear or provoke unlawful violence in Moreton on September 1. She also possessed a kitchen knife in a public space at Foxglove Close.

Toby Baxter, a farmer from Chedworth, failed to provide suitable equipment, ensure pre-use checks, implement a system to fill the spray tank, formally train employees, and properly assess risks. This negligence led to the death of 22-year-old Laura Simmons on June 2, 2023, at Spoonley Farm in Winchcombe, where a quad bike overturned due to an overloaded front rack, uneven tyre pressure, unstable load, and other issues.