Shrewsbury shop has alcohol licence revoked after sales to 16-year-olds
A Shrewsbury convenience shop which sold alcohol to 16-year-olds on three occasions has had its premises licence revoked.
Shropshire Council's licensing committee carried out the review of the alcohol licence at Greenfields Convenience Store, in Wood Street, after four cans of 7.5 per cent Lynx lager were sold to a 16-year-old volunteer on December 3 last year.
Grant Tunnadine, from Trading Standards, told yesterday's hearing the sale had taken place only one month after the shop had regained its licence from a previous three-month suspension.
Mr Tunnadine said that when asked to provide CCTV footage of the incidents the shop's owner, Gurmale Bhakar, had provided investigators with two USBs, both of which were blank.
He said: "Officers requested CCTV and despite concerns about CCTV at the previous hearing Mr Bhakar was again unable to provide footage."
Mr Tunnadine told the Shirehall hearing that the December sale had been made by employee Steven Gibbs, who had also sold alcohol to a 16-year-old on a previous occasion. He also told the committee that Mr Bhakar had failed to implement a number of measures, including a new CCTV system, requested at the previous licence hearing.
Jackie Eaton, representing Mr Bhakar, said he had now taken the decision to give up the store because of ill health.
She said: "Mr Bhakar was ill throughout 2014 and as a consequence he spent less and less time at the shop. Mr Gibbs admits that he made a mistake with the test purchase and does not know why that happened as he had been advised by Mr Bhakar constantly that he must carry out ID checks."
The hearing heard that Mr Bhakar had "relinquished" the lease for the shop and was requesting that the license be retained. However, chairman of the committee Councillor Peter Cherrington, rejected the request.
