Under-age alcohol sales caught out

8:56am Wednesday 27th February 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A Borehamwood shop-owner was caught selling alcohol to underage customers during an operation to tackle illegal sales.

Hertfordshire Trading Standards ran the five- day sting after recruiting 15 and 16-year-old volunteers to visit 48 shops in the county.In Hertfordshire, six out of 32 licensed premises sold alcohol to teenagers, while three out of 16 shops allowed children to buy cigarettes.One Borehamwood proprietor was caught on February 13, after failing to check how old the customer was. The business cannot be named for legal reasons.County councillor Richard Smith, executive member for community safety, said: "Unfortunately some shops were not abiding by the law, and we are not prepared to tolerate the sale of alcohol or cigarettes to underage customers."Anyone selling age-restricted goods should adopt a 'Challenge 21' policy - if a customer looks under 21, then they should be asked to prove that they are 18."A Trading Standards spokesman said acceptable forms of identification are PASS-approved ID cards, or a photo driving licence or passport.He said the circumstances of each of offence is being investigated and officers would consider imposing fixed penalty £80 fines.Mr Smith added: "Persistent offenders may have their licenses reviewed and maybe even revoked."Members of the public can report shops selling alcohol or cigarettes to underage customers to Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.