Government plans for a blanket ban on cigarette vending machines in a bid to stop young people taking up smoking could cost a Shropshire company 100 jobs, it was claimed today.

Bosses of Cherwell Tobacco, in Whitchurch, say the company’s future hangs in the balance pending the outcome of a Government judicial review next month.

Bosses at the firm, which makes the machines as a core product, say they could be forced to close with “terrible” consequences for the local workforce if the ban comes in.

Nationwide any ban could signal the end of the line for more than 250 businesses, which have been pleading to have their views heard since the idea was first mooted.

Paul Mair, sales and market director of Cherwell Tobacco, which was established 35 years ago and is the largest independent cigarette vending operator in the UK, said he was concerned by the threat.

He said: “If we are forced to close this would be terrible for a small market town like Whitchurch as we are a big employer of local people.

“The fact that we primarily produce vending machines means if the Government go ahead with banning them, we haven’t got a lot left and could be forced to close.”

The National Association of Cigarette Machine Operators insists there is no need to impose the ban.