Big Brother contestant Simone Reed sold illegal tobacco

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Simone Reed appeared on Big Brother in 2017

A former Big Brother contestant has been ordered to do unpaid work after admitting selling illegal tobacco.

Simone Reed, 29, and her co-accused, Kevin Buttery, both from Stockton, offered cigarettes for sale at prices "significantly lower than normal".

The pair used social media profiles to advertise the products and often said UK duty had been paid, but it had not.

They pleaded guilty to excise fraud and were ordered by Teesside magistrates to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.

Reed, of Reynoldston Avenue, appeared on the reality television show in 2017 - one of four new housemates introduced in the show's fourth week - and was evicted two weeks later.

'Rookie attempt'

She was arrested along with Buttery, 31 and of Staindale Gardens, were after Reed's home was searched in December 2016.

More than a kilo of hand-rolling tobacco and 1,460 cigarettes - on which 拢602 duty was unpaid - were seized by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

Magistrates heard she had posted 26 adverts online in one month offering cigarettes and tobacco for sale, and messages on her phone revealed she had been delivering cigarettes to customers in the area for a 拢1 fee.

HMRC described it as "a rookie attempt to make some quick cash at the expense of taxpayers".