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Off licences and bars named and shamed for selling alcohol to children

Posted on 26/02/2009

Off licences and bars named and shamed for selling alcohol to children

Off-licences and pubs which have been caught selling alcohol to children in Leicester are being named and shamed by police for the first time.

Senior police officers in the city have decided to publicly name those businesses which fail test purchases after recent checks resulted in a third of premises visited selling alcohol to an underage youngster posing as a customer.

Off-licences and pubs which have passed the test are also being named to acknowledge those which are selling alcohol legally and responsibly.

Chief Inspector Andy Sharp said: "Since January police in the city have carried out test purchases at 66 off-licences and bars. Of those 22 sold to an underage youngster.

"This failure rate is incredibly disappointing. Clearly, warnings and £80 fines for sales assistants caught selling alcohol to under-18s are not having an affect. The threat that the licence holder may lose their licence and therefore their livelihood also seems to be having little impact as some of these premises have failed a test purchase for the second, third and even fourth time.

"We hope that publicly naming and shaming premises may finally get the message across to licence holders that we mean business. We know from listening to our communities that underage drinking and associated anti-social behaviour is having a negative impact on many neighbourhoods. We hope this action therefore also reassures residents that we are listening to them and we are acting on their concerns. They can rest assured that we will do all we can to gather intelligence and apply to the City Councils Licensing Committee to revoke a licence where a premises is caught repeatedly selling alcohol to under-18s.

"We have also decided to name those premises which have passed test purchases as we wish to thank them for taking their responsibilities seriously. We hope that in future all people involved in the sale of alcohol in Leicester will support the police and the licensing objectives which are to prevent crime and disorder, promote public safety, prevent nuisance and protect children from harm."

The following premises have FAILED a test purchase operation since January 2009:

  • Victoria News and Booze, Howard Road
  • Kandys News, Uppingham Road
  • Bargain Booze, Gipsy Lane
  • Concept (Premier), Welford Road
  • Lucky Superstore, Abbey Park Street
  • Whynot, Melton Road
  • Tirangaa, Melton Road
  • Bhupa News, Melton Road
  • Wyvern, Barkby Road
  • Talbot, Thurcaston Road
  • BP Groby Road Service Station, Groby Road

The following premises have PASSED a test purchase operation since January 2009:

  • Off Licence, Glossop Street
  • Green Lane Service Station, Green Lane Road
  • Tudor Hotel, Tudor Road
  • Barcode, Narborough Road
  • Morgans, Hinckley Road
  • Huntsman, Narborough Road
  • Blue Rooms, Eastern Boulevard
  • High News, High Street
  • Woodsman, Belgrave Gate
  • J Sainsburys, Belgrave Road
  • Elite News & Off Licence, Melton Road
  • Radias Superstore, Melton Road
  • Seasonal Super Booze, Melton Road
  • Theepanas Groceries, Melton Road
  • Judiya Enterprises, Melton Road
  • Victoria, Melton Road
  • Durgka Mini Market, Melton Road
  • Ganapadi Store, Melton Road
  • Sandringham Service Station, Melton Road
  • Owl & The Pussycat, Melton Road
  • Off Licence, Bateman Road
  • Ricky, Aikman Avenue
  • Co-Op, Aikman Avenue
  • Balvi Store, Bonney Road
  • Off Licence, Keightley Road
  • Off Licence, Musson Road
  • Co-Op, Sharmon Crescent
  • Tesco Express, Ryder Road
  • A-Z News, Groby Road
  • Morker News, Loughborough Road
  • Belgrave PO and General Store, Loughborough Road
  • Kapz News & Booze, Loughborough Road

Premises which have failed a test purchase will only be named and shamed by police once interviews with the member of staff or licence holder have taken place. Therefore further premises will be named in due course.

Some of these premises which have failed a test purchase will now face a review of their licence before Leicester City Councils Licensing Committee.

The test purchase operations have been carried out as part of an ongoing campaign funded by the Home Office to tackle underage drinking, alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour in Leicester.

Anyone with information about an off-licence or pub that sells alcohol to young people under the age of 18 should call Leicestershire Constabulary on 0116 222 2222 or Crimestoppers, which if free* and anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

* Please note some mobile phone service providers may charge for this call.