A Dudley shopkeeper has been fined after selling alcohol to a 15 year old as part of a Dudley Trading Standards exercise.

The court heard that during a routine test purchase exercise carried out by Dudley Trading Standards in July 2017, a 15 year old child was sold a bottle of Caribbean Twist with 4% alcohol by volume from Malcolm’s Newsagents in Watsons Green Road, Dudley.

At Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on 11 October, the premises licence holder and designated premises supervisor, Chandran Thevar, pleaded not guilty to an offence under the Licensing Act 2003 claiming that he had exercised all due diligence to avoid the offence.

He was found guilty and fined £692 with £1,942.65 costs and a victim surcharge of £96. The court heard that the alcohol was sold by a relative of Thevar who did not have a permit to work in the UK. Councillor Cathryn Bayton, cabinet member for health and well being said:

"Trading standards officers regularly visit shop keepers in the borough to advise on the law relating to age restricted products such as alcohol and tobacco and we encourage them to sign up to the Challenge 25 scheme.

"We also carry out regular test purchases using under age volunteers to check that the law is being complied with. Shop staff must be trained and supervised to ensure that ID is always asked for if a purchaser looks under 25 and the sale refused if no ID is produced.

"We won’t hesitate to prosecute where shop keepers do not follow the advice given as it is an important public health priority that children are not able to buy alcohol and cigarettes."

As a result of this incident, the premises licence was reviewed by the council’s licensing committee in September 2017 and additional conditions imposed including the requirement to carry out and monitor staff training.