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Under age sales conviction
A Bromley trader was fined £500 and ordered to pay £150 costs at Bromley Magistrates Court for selling alcohol to a minor. Arjan Nandha trading as Dhruvi News, in Widmore Road, Bromley pleaded guilty to selling two cans of Stella Artois lager to the 15 year old boy in a test-purchase operation. The Council’s Trading Standards campaign is part of a wider scheme to monitor the sale of age-restricted goods and the crackdown on the potential for related anti-social behaviour.
“Traders should remember that under the new legislation we can ultimately take away their licence to sell alcohol, which would have a detrimental impact on their business. It is in everyone’s interest that traders check the age of young people attempting to buy age-restricted goods from them.” said Rob Vale, the Council’s Trading Standards Team Leader.
The trader failed to ask the minor for his age or for any identification when the test-purchase was carried out in April 2005. The subsequent legal action against the trader was taken under the old Licensing Act of 1964. However, since November 24th 2005 new licensing laws have into effect. These new laws allow ‘Responsible Authorities’ such as the Council’s Trading Standards team to request the review of the existing licence of a trader.
The licence can be reviewed on the basis of any one of the four licensing objectives:
- Prevention of crime and disorder.
- Public safety.
- Protection of children from harm.
- Prevention of public nuisance.
Bromley Council’s Trading Standards team, Licensing officers and Nuisance officers and the Police have agreed an enforcement programme that will include prosecutions, fixed penalty notices and the potential loss of a trader’s licence if it is called for review against one or more of the above objectives.
Campaigns to tackle under-age drinking in pubs and the selling of alcohol to minors in off-licences are set to increase over the coming months. Traders are warned to be vigilant and ensure they challenge anyone who looks under age.
ENDS
For media enquiries, please contact Amy Bevins, Strategy Development Officer, on 020 8313 4738, or Rob Vale, Trading Standards Team Leader on 020 8313 4785 or email amy.bevins@bromley.gov.uk