A Caerphilly county borough license holder has been prosecuted for allowing the underage sale of alcohol on their premises.
The owner of The New Wingfield Hotel in Llanbradach was taken to court after allowing the sale of two bottles of Blue WKD alcopops to a 14-year old female and a 16-year-old male during a test purchase by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards team.
The defendant appeared at Caerphilly Magistrates recently (9th August 2010). They pleaded guilty and were ordered to pay a £500 fine, together with £439.02 investigative costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
The employee who served the youngsters with the alcohol was issued with an £80 Penalty Notice for Disorder (PND).
Cllr Lyn Ackerman, Cabinet Member for the Environment said, “This successful prosecution emphasises our commitment to ensuring that alcohol does not get into the hands of our children.”
She continued, “Thankfully, the vast majority of license holders in our county borough do take their responsibilities very seriously, however a small minority still do not. It is totally unacceptable to allow children the means of accessing alcohol, and our team of Trading Standards officers conduct regular test purchases on age restricted items to ensure the law is upheld”.
“We will continue to pursue prosecutions against those individuals who break the law in this manner”, she concluded.
The test purchase took place on 11th December 2009, as part of a wider joint operation with Gwent Police.
Caerphilly Partnership Inspector Alan Webber, said: “Underage drinking is an issue that is regularly raised by the public at community meetings. We are committed to dealing with those that serve alcohol to young people under the age of 18 and will continue to work with our colleagues in Trading Standards to address this issue.”
For further information, please contact Trading Standards on 01495 235 291.
