Police and Trading Standards in Swansea are urging licensed shops to ask young people for ID before selling alcohol to them.
The call comes after Joan Fala, licensee of Jersey Stores, Jersey Road Bonymaen, pleaded guilty to selling alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years and permitting a fifteen year old boy to sell alcohol from the premises.
Swansea Magistrates imposed a total fine of £400 and ordered Ms.Fala to pay £200 costs. The prosecution resulted from a sale of alcohol in June 2009 to a 15 year old girl during a routine periodic test purchasing exercise undertaken by Trading Standards & the Police.
The Council and the Police develop a test purchase programme by selecting premises for test purchase based on local knowledge and local intelligence that indicates where alcohol is being abused and causing local harm.
Checks of this nature are undertaken to verify that licensed premises are not selling alcohol to children and that appropriate supervision and training is being implemented at those premises.
Martin Saville, Head of Environment and Health in Swansea Council, said, “The Police and the Council continue to invest significant time and effort in visiting “off licences” to explain the importance of ensuring that alcohol is only sold to young people legally entitled to buy it.
“Guidance and training is provided to businesses to help them properly manage sales of alcohol. We also provide proof of age cards to young people. So there should be no reason or excuse when businesses are caught selling alcohol illegally.”
John Hague, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said, “We have an important role to play in protecting young people. Together with the Police we have reminded “Off Licence” retailers continuously that they must manage their premises rigorously to prevent young people being endangered by illegal sales of alcohol.
“Youth nuisance and anti social behaviour are exaggerated by reckless use of alcohol and licensees must understand the importance of their role to prevent alcohol causing problems in local communities”.
