Two Stoke-on-Trent shops have been ordered to close for three months after Trading Standards officers seized almost £24,000 worth of illegal tobacco and vaping products.

Martin Pitchford · 3 September 2026

Sixteen years after the BBC reported on the decline of Newcastle-under-Lyme’s high street, Six Towns Daily looks at why local people are still raising the same concerns in 2026, from empty units and a lack of independent businesses to the growing number of takeaways, vape shops and barbers.

Martin Pitchford · 26 August 2026

Shoppers and traders in Newcastle-under-Lyme say there are now “far too many” vape shops in the town centre, as concerns grow over the changing face of the high street.

Martin Pitchford · 16 August 2026