Wolverhampton shop's licence suspended after alcohol and vapes 'sold to schoolchildren'

Following a complaint about underage sales – along with information received from West Midlands Police – licensing bosses today made the decision to suspend alcohol sales from Lloyd Hill Convenience Store in Penn for a minimum of three months – or until staff have received full training.

Senior Trading Standards officer Stefan Polatajko told today’s licensing sub committee meeting that on March 31, 2022, an elected member of the council had made a complaint on behalf of a resident that alcohol had been sold to their 13-year-old daughter by the shop.

“On December 8, 2022, information was received from the police alleging that vapes were being sold by Lloyds Convenience Store to children in school uniform during school hours,” he said.

“Then, on January 30, 2023, further information was received from the police again alleging that vapes were being sold by the shop to schoolchildren in uniform during school hours.

“On February 23 this year a volunteer for the City of Wolverhampton Council, who is under the age of 18, purchased two 250ml 5% ABV cans of Gordon’s Gin and Tonic from the store. The sale was witnessed by a Trading Standards officer. No attempt was made to ask the young person their age or ask for identification.

“The 16-year-old volunteer had been asked for and refused age-restricted products at another shop that day,” he added.

“Lloyds Convenience Store – also known as Spar – has engaged in activities which have breached the licensing objectives namely the prevention of crime and disorder and the protection of children from harm.”

The council’s section leader for licensing, Amitabh Singh, said: “On March 6, 2023, Trading Standards submitted an application to review the premises licence. The issues raised relate to underage alcohol sales.

“Licensing authority has concerns over the premises licence holder CMK Superstores and designated premises supervisor Bhupinder Singh, as the evidence provided by Trading Standards indicates that they are not upholding the licensing objectives of Prevention of Crime and Disorder and Protection of Children from Harm – and therefore putting the public at risk.”

Senior Public Health specialist Nilusha Sahni added: “Public Health have very serious concerns regarding the sale of alcohol to underage persons. As a responsible authority, we would expect any business licensed to sell alcohol to act responsibly at all times and promote the key objectives of the Licensing Act 2003.”

Council solicitor David Abel told the meeting that the committee felt the best option was to suspend the licence for a minimum of three months, whilst staff training was undertaken to correct sales at the store.