Selling Aerosol Paint Containers in Hampshire

The Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003

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One of the provisions of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 relates to the sale of aerosol paint containers and is enforced by Trading Standards Officers employed by the County Council.

The main requirements are:

Age of Purchase

• A person commits an offence if she/he sells an aerosol paint container to a person under the age of sixteen.
• Aerosol paint container means a device which -
  
  

  a) contains paint stored under pressure, and

  b) is designed to release the paint as a spray.

Defences

• she/he took all reasonable steps to determine the purchaser's age
• she/he reasonably believed the purchaser was not under the age of sixteen and
• she/he took all reasonable steps to avoid the commission of the offence.

Penalties

Conviction for an offence carries a maximum fine of £2,500.

We take the enforcement of the legislation very seriously. We intend to keep the whole area of the under-age sales of aerosol paint containers under surveillance and will not hesitate to prosecute anyone found contravening the law.

One way we will enforce the law is by the use of underage child volunteers to attempt test purchases at shops across the County.

This Authority looks forward to your support in ensuring that the law is upheld. We also wish to help you get it right and offer advice on how to reduce the chances of under age sales. For more information contact the number below.

Useful Information

• Protecting the Environment from Graffiti
  
  
• Hampshire County Council Poster:
  
  

  PDF version of A4 Poster for printing 91 ( KB) An Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in may be required.

  
  

 

This advice is designed to provide basic guidance to traders. It is not a complete or authoritative statement of the law. For further assistance on this or any other Trading Standards legislation, please contact your nearest office. We will be pleased to offer this information in larger print or translated into any language on request.

B/155/001/July 2004