Premise licence reviewed after under age sales

Herefordshire Council has reviewed the premise licence of McColls, The Oval, Hereford, after sales were made to under age persons on three separate occasions.

The regulatory sub-committee at their meeting on Tuesday, November 4 decided to impose the following extra conditions on the licence:

That the following additional condition be imposed upon the licence from February 4 2009:

• Personal licence holder to be on site at all times during sales of alcohol.

That the following additional conditions be imposed forthwith upon the licence:

• That the use of 'Challenge 25' is made a condition of all sales made on the premises.
• Train all staff engaged in selling alcohol in alcohol awareness (not just personal licence holders). All new staff to be trained within two weeks of commencing employment. Evidence of training to be retained in writing and to be available for inspection by any authorised person and trading standards officers.
• Prominent signs publicising the age challenge policy to be displayed at the entrance to the premises, at the tills and in all areas where alcohol is being displayed.

The review followed three separate test purchase operations carried out by the council's trading standards section and West Mercia Police, in May 2007 and twice on the same day in August 2008.,

People who made the sales were issued with fixed penalty notices. One of them was a personal licence holder.

Councillor Peter Jones, chairman of the regulatory sub-committee, said: "It is always disappointing when premises sell alcohol to under age people, but the fact this store did so three times means we have to take action.

"I hope the imposition of these extra conditions will ensure the store doesn't break the law again," he added.