ILLEGAL cigarettes and tobacco have been seized in Otley as part of a West Yorkshire Trading Standards crackdown.

The illicit items were found in the town, and in Beeston, Harehills and Armley, during inspection visits to various stores.

In total more than 67,000 cigarettes and some 9kg of hand rolling tobacco were uncovered at shops across the four locations.

The intelligence-based raids were carried out by Trading Standards Illegal Tobacco Team officers on March 9 - No Smoking Day - as part of the Keep it Out campaign.

Funded by the five West Yorkshire councils, the campaign aims to cut the supply and demand for illegal tobacco across the region.

It is also part of the wider Tackling Illicit Tobacco for Better Health program, and the latest raids bring the total number of illegal cigarettes seized by Trading Standards officers in West Yorkshire to more than one million.

Head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, David Lodge, said: "Those involved in dealing in illegal tobacco may be encouraging people, including children, to smoke by providing a cheap source.

"We, along with partners such as HM Revenue and Customs and local authorities including Leeds City Council, have been working to cut the supply of and demand for cheap, illegal tobacco."

The seized items included suspected counterfeit, incorrectly labelled and non-duty paid products which cannot be legally sold in the UK.

Anyone who knows where illegal tobacco is being sold is urged to report it, anonymously, online at keep-it-out.co.uk or to call the Illegal Tobacco Hotline on 0300 999 0000.