60 complaints on booze sold to children

More than 60 complaints have been made to the city council about Wolverhampton-based newsagents selling alcohol to underage children in the last year, a new report has revealed.

Following the complaints, 13 shopkeepers have been caught out selling booze to children who were sent to each site deliberately by the authority as an undercover tactic.

The findings, revealed in a council report, will be examined by the authority's Tory leadership to see if more can be done to combat the problem. In 2008/09, there were 63 test buys made by youngsters working for Trading Standards, resulting in 13 traders breaking the law.

Of the 13 shopkeepers, four were given formal warnings, five were given cautions, and legal proceedings were started on the rest. One trader was fined a total of £230 by Wolverhampton Magistrates Court, while others are yet to take part in the legal process. In the four months leading up to April, the council teamed up with the police and Wolverhampton City Primary Care Trust to launch a Keep It Safe campaign to try and reduce the complaints.

The authority also say there are large numbers of "proxy sales", where adults buy alcohol for children. Trading Standards are examining the problem further but the report admits that there is no data on the extent of it. Peter Calvert, from Trading Standards, said: "The service has maintained its well-established policy of only carrying out supervised child test purchase operations in response to valid complaints or intelligence."

The Express & Star reported this week how a crackdown has been launched to stop adults buying booze for teenagers in Wolverhampton. Council bosses have drawn up a list of 46 problem premises and will be carrying out stings at off-licences and shops around the city. Hotspots include Bilston, Wednesfield and Whitmore Reans.