One main concern about ante-social behaviour among young people is the selling of alcohol to under age people. The following article shows what is being done in Wigan to combat this problem.
Licensee fined £1000 for underage alcohol sale
A Wigan licensee has been fined for selling alcohol to an underage teenager.
The licensee of The Outdoor off licence, Scholes Precinct, Wigan pleaded guilty on 20March at Wigan Magistrates Court to selling alcohol to a 15 year old volunteer working with Wigan Council’s trading standards officers.
He was fined £1000 plus £500 costs. The sales assistant who actually served the alcohol on the night has already received an £80 penalty notice issued by the police for the offence.
The test purchase attempt was part of a national Home Office campaign to tackle underage sales of alcohol by the police and trading standards between May and July 2007.
Julie Middlehurst, Wigan Council Chief Trading Standards Officer, said: “This particular licensee had repeatedly been advised by us on under age sales matters, and in particular of the need to maintain a refusals book.
“As the Premises Licence Holder,he holds a pivotal position in relation to ensuring that the staff are trained, and capable and able to refuse sales of alcohol to under age children.
Ms Middlehurst said the council will monitor sales from the premise and would offer to work with the licensee to ensure no underage sales are made from the premises in future.
She added: “Trading standards are committed to supporting those businesses who want to ensure that they do not sell alcohol to under 18s, and yet will come down hard on those who flout the laws.”
2 comments:
Perhaps Trading Standards can investigate why Somerfield carrier bags are being found together with large quantities of empty alcohol bottles in the woods at Ashton Heath.
£1000 fine plus £500 costs is probably a very small percentage of this retailer's annual turnover; and it isn't a big enough penalty.
I know magistrates powers are often limited so perhaps a change in the law is needed to introduce a penalty of say 20% of annual turnover for a first offence and permanent loss of license for a second offence.
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