Persistent Illegal Selling Will Not Be Tolerated ... ; Repeat Offenders Are Warned They Will Be 'Dealt with Robustly'
Grimsby Telegraph › February 07, 2011
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Summary
COUNCIL chiefs are warning off-licence owners they will be dealt with robustly if they persistently sell alcohol to under-18s. Three out of four premises tackled in a test purchasing operation in North East Lincolnshire sold to schoolgirls aged 15 and 16. Grimsby's Cartergate News and Booze and Scartho's Edge Avenue News and Scartho News And Booze in Mendip Avenue were all handed Pounds 80 fixed penalty notices. If they are caught again within the next 18 months, they could face a licence review and be fined up to Pounds 10,000. Councillor Steve Beasant, NELC's portfolio holder for community safety, said: "We are determined to crackdown on this and to take action where possible - that is my message loud and clear. "If they keep selling to those underage I am sure the licensing committee will take firm action. "It is not just about alcohol-related crimem but we are also trying to protect people for health reasons. "We are not going to stand for it and if we need to up our enforcement, we will do. "Our system is getting more and more robust and you can expect to see more premises fined." The Grimsby Telegraph joined Trading Standards' principal trading standards officer Jane Tomlinson and licensing manager Adrian Moody during an evening of test purchasing.
The schoolgirls went into the premises together, and on each occasion came out with a 700ml bottle of alcopop WKD. They were not asked for identification, because had they been, they would have had to tell the truth and say "we are not 18". John Seale, head of public protection at North East LIncolnshire Council, said: "The illegal sales that we have seen in this round of test purchases are disappointing. "With all of the publicity and enforcement surrounding this area, it is hard to believe retailers are unaware of their legal and moral responsibilities to not sell alcohol to children. "However, this does show the need for us to continue carrying out this type of enforcement work. "As we have seen previously, when we are actively carrying out test purchasing campaigns, shops tighten up their procedures and illegal sales are seen to drop. It is in between campaigns that licensees let their standards slip.See the full content of this document
Extract
Persistent Illegal Selling Will Not Be Tolerated ... ; Repeat Offenders Are Warned They Will Be 'Dealt with Robustly'
"We will now be working with the premises which sold to underage customers on this occasion.
Appropriate action will...See the full content of this document
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