Worthing shop's licence revoked due to alcohol sales to children

A Worthing shop will have its licence revoked after it sold alcohol to children twice.
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West Sussex Trading Standards asked Worthing Borough Council to revoke the licence held by Om Food & Wine, at 123 Clifton Road.

It came after the shop sold alcohol to a Trading Standards child volunteer who was able to buy WKD without ID.

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Sussex Police also called for the licence to be revoked as the shop had sold alcohol to a child before, in 2020.

123 Clifton Road123 Clifton Road
123 Clifton Road

Three children, who were described as ‘very drunk’, were attended to by police and paramedics in Goring following the sale and the alcohol was traced back to Om Food & Wine.

Following a hearing on Wednesday June 8, the council’s licensing and control committee agreed to revoke the licence, calling the move ‘proportionate and necessary’ to protect children from harm.

Peter Aston, West Sussex Trading Standards team manager, said: “On 23 February 2022, a child aged 15, under the direction of West Sussex County Council Trading Standards, purchased two bottles of WKD blue 275 millilitre ready to drink alcopop.

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“[Om Food & Wine] did not ask the volunteer their age or ask for ID.”

David Bateup, a Sussex Police licensing officer, said: “Although there’s only been one test purchase operation in February, in actual fact there have been two illegal sales of alcohol by this premises.

“We have the particularly unfortunate instance in June 2020 when the designated premises supervisor, Mr Patel, sold alcohol to children.

“The sale was recorded on Mr Patel’s own CCTV cameras.

“I showed the still photograph taken from the CCTV camera to a number of my colleagues at the police station.

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“When my colleagues saw the appearance of the three children they were absolutely appalled and shocked and the unanimous reaction from everyone was ‘what on earth is this man doing selling alcohol to them’.

“They were quite clearly children and looked under 16.”

Mr Bateup said the supervisor and licence holder were invited to a meeting at Durrington Police Station and given a formal written warning

He suggested the outcome could have been ‘worse’ for the three children and, despite the warning, the business failed a test sale.

A representative for the business pointed out that a follow up visit by police in April found the shop to be complying with its licence.

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They called on the committee to ‘consider other options’ rather than revoking the licence.

“This incident with the three children, the DPS and the licence holder are really shocked and they’re really sad but it is not intentional – they’re prepared to take steps,” they said.

They added that Mr Patel originally ‘failed to grasp the idea’ of the Challenge 25 policy – that is, asking anyone who looks under 25 for ID if they try to buy age restricted products – but he said Mr Patel is now ‘very familiar’ with the practice following training.

“I really want you to look at [other] options as opposed to revoking the licence,

considering the improvements,” they said.

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But the committee concluded there had been ‘multiple failings of the licensing conditions’ and sufficient training and advice had been given ‘which had been ignored’.

Unless the shop appeals the decision, it will no longer be able to sell alcohol from July 1.