A County Durham shop could lose its alcohol licence after selling a can of strong alcohol to a 15-year-old girl, writes Local Democracy Reporter, Joshua Nichol.
Lifestyle Express on Main Street, Shildon, is due to go before Durham County Council after Trading Standards applied for its licence to be reviewed.
Councillors will meet to decide what happens to the shop on November 17, with the harshest punishment being to revoke its alcohol licence outright.
Trading Standards officers carried out an underage test purchase at the shop on August 12 after being made aware that police were investigating a separate allegation that alcohol had been sold to someone underage.
At around 1.40pm, a can of Sorceress Brew containing 7.5 per cent alcohol was sold to a 15-year-old girl working with Trading Standards, while an officer was inside the shop.
Documents submitted to the council say the member of staff who made the sale had worked at the shop for only two days and told officers they thought the girl looked 18.
Trading Standards said officers could not find recorded staff training, with a report saying: “There was an A4 book with ‘Training’ on it, however upon inspection, this was empty.”
The licence holder told officers there was no recorded training but that staff were trained.
Trading Standards said there were “clear failings” in the management of the premises relating to alcohol sales and compliance with its licence conditions.
The review is supported by Durham Constabulary, Public Health and the Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership.
Evidence submitted on behalf of the licence holder includes staff training material, a refusals register, age-verification records and a Challenge 25 policy.
Joshua Nichol
Shildon & District's local community newspaper.
