KENDAL retailers have been urged to brush up on under age sales legislation ahead of the festival season.

With thousands of young festival goers expected to arrive in the Lake District next month, retailers have been advised to ensure that they know the law on age restricted items.

Social enterprise group, Under Age Sales, is waning retailers selling products for or at the events to be stringent with their transactions.

Tony Allen, managing director of Under Age Sales, said that although some products such as alcohol and tobacco are well recognised as age restricted, others are less known about.

"Festivals are a place for friends and families to have fun outdoors, learning about new cultures and trying different things," he said. "Often at these events, people lose their inhibitions and a respect for the law can become blurred.

For many retailers attending festivals, challenges arise when their knowledge of age restricted products becomes outdated, which doesn’t only leave them at risk of being fined for breaking the law, but could result in their customers being placed in danger.

"We’re urging retailers selling any age restricted products for or at outdoor events this summer to arrive prepared. Make sure you’re familiar of the restrictions on your products, and be stringent when it comes to requesting forms of identification from customers who are suspected to be under the legal age to purchase the items."

The charity have highlighted five products that retailers working at festivals this summer may not be aware carry certain legislation:

- Bladed instruments and cutlery: Seen as an essential item for camping trips, Swiss Army knives and other bladed instruments should not be sold to anyone under the age of 18. The law does not apply to skewers, scissors, safety razors, wooden or plastic cutlery, but does apply to metal cutlery.

- Gas canisters: Whether used to refill cigarette lighters or gas camping stoves, butane gas canisters should not be sold to anyone under 18 years of age. Neither should BBQ lighting sticks.

- Hayfever and allergy medication: Many forms of allergy relief contain diphenhydramine or diphenhydrinate – a product which is illegal to sell to those under 18 years old.

- Tattooing: Some festival goers may opt to mark the occasion with a new tattoo. However, it is an offence to tattoo anyone under 18, except for henna tattoos, which do not fall under this legislation.

- Explosives: Often on sale at festivals, fireworks of category two or higher (this includes most fireworks, except Christmas crackers, novelty matches and party poppers) or sparklers cannot be sold to anyone under 18.