A number of shops have had their licences suspended after they were caught selling booze to children in a crackdown by police and council officials.
M&G County Wines in Hereford, and three other premises in the north of the county, will be unable to sell alcohol for periods from 24 hours to seven days after being caught selling to underage customers.
The outlets failed to heed warnings given following a test purchase campaign at Christmas, by supplying minors with alcohol during a follow-up initiative at Easter.
The four licence holders had their licences suspended for varying periods at a council hearing on Friday, May 9 after being reported to a council licensing committee.
As part of the original campaign, outlets that supplied children with alcohol without the necessary checks were issued with a written warning and members of staff who made the sales, were hit with a Fixed Penalty Notice fine.
Herefordshire Division’s Licensing Officer, PC Steve Thomas, said: “The police and officers from Trading Standards work very closely together to ensure that the licensed trade is meeting its obligations to prevent sales of alcohol to children.
Many retailers do take these responsibilities seriously and ensure that staff undertake proper proof of age checks before sales are made.
However, there are a small minority who are continuing to make sales to children and for whom previous warnings have fallen on deaf ears.
“We hope that the decision to temporarily suspend licences in these cases will make it abundantly clear that this will simply not be tolerated.”
The other off licences are: Ashby Stores, High Street, Kington (7 days); Spar, Leominster (24 hours) and Local, High Street, Leominster (7 days). The punishment comes into effect on May 31.
