Two Burnley off-licences caught selling alcohol to under-age youths

11:29am Wednesday 23rd July 2008

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OFF-licences in Burnley suspected of selling alcohol to under-age youths have been targeted by police.

Test purchases were carried out at 19 premises, which had been chosen after information was passed to the police by the public.

Seventeen of the premises passed the test. The two premises that failed were Supersave in Boundary Street and Schofields in Piccadilly Road.

The sellers at both these off licences have been issued with £80 fixed penalty tickets.

PCSO Dave Johnson, who carried out the operation alongside a number of officers, praised the majority of off licence staff for their diligence in carrying out the proper checks regarding customer’s ages.

He said: “Although we do not have as many failures as we used to have two or three years ago, it shows that off licences still need to be on their toes when asking for ID from anyone who does not look old enough.

“All off licences should now be using the Challenge 21 initiative whereby if someone is lucky enough to look under 21 they should be asked to prove they are 18 before letting them purchase alcohol.

“We shall continue to carry out these operations and any necessary fines or suspensions of licences will be enforced.

“We have had many successes in the past in shutting down persistent offenders and also suspending licences for long periods. Please remember ‘if in doubt ask for ID.’”

If anyone has any information aboutoff licences selling alcohol to underage youths theyshould report it to their neighbourhood policing team or Burnley police on 01282 425001.