Bersted convenience store has premises licence suspended after alcohol sold to underage teenager

Premier, in Chichester Road, fell foul of a test purchase organised by West Sussex County Council’s Trading Standards team in November 2022.

An application to review the store’s licence was heard during a meeting of Arun District Council’s licensing sub-committee in late April.

The review was supported by Sussex Police, who reported that store manager Radhika Patel had sold two cans of pre-mixed pink gin and tonic to a 17-year-old girl ‘with no questions asked whatsoever’.

When spoken to, Mrs Patel said she thought the teenager looked 26 or 27 years old.

When told that she had been distracted by a phone call during the sale, a police spokesman said this was ‘unacceptable and not an excuse’.

The meeting was told that this was not the first time Premier had come to the attention of Trading Standards.

In August 2022, a complaint was received from the parent of a 12-year-old after the youngster was sold an energy drink labelled as not intended for under-18s.

While not an offence at the time, the store was warned that the government planned to ban the sale of energy drinks to children under 16.

Advice was given and the matter closed.

But the county council’s public health department was not impressed with the latest incident.

A spokesman said: “The sale of alcohol to children is of extreme concern, considering the strong evidence demonstrating the harms caused by alcohol to children and young people.

“It is noted that Trading Standards had recently given verbal and written advice about the sale of age restricted products to the member of staff who sold the alcohol to the under-age Trading Standards volunteer.

“This advice had not been acted upon, which indicates a lack of effective training at the premises and suggests a disregard for the law.”

The store’s licence was suspended , effective immediately.