Shop’s licence suspended after alcohol ‘sold to 11-year-old’

A shop which reportedly sold alcohol to an 11-year-old boy has had its licence suspended for two months.

Members of Caerphilly County Borough Council’s licensing committee issued the sanction after hearing concerns about the running of Village Stores, on High Street, Nelson.

A trading standards officer said she had asked the committee to review the shop’s premises licence following “a serious incident involving the sale of alcohol to an 11-year-old child”.

The boy’s parents alerted the council to the incident, and further investigations uncovered issues with CCTV, training and records of underage refusals.

Shopkeeper Nirojan Thavarasa accepted the “seriousness” of the incident and had agreed to new licence conditions, his representative told the committee.

Following deliberations, the committee agreed to suspend the shop’s licence for two months – a course of action a licensing officer said would give Mr Thavarasa time to implement correct procedures.

The business must also bring in an accredited external provider to provide licensing training to staff.

Trading standards officer Rhian Cross said the boy’s parents had reportedly returned to the shop after learning about the incident, where they claimed the staff member involved “didn’t know the legal age” for purchasing alcohol.

Her department went to encounter delays during their investigation, and Mr Thavarasa – who was initially reported to be out of the country – was later uncooperative, Ms Cross alleged.

She added the sale of alcohol to under-18s was also illegal, but a criminal investigation had “come to a halt”.

This was due to difficulties tracking down the former staff member involved, while Mr Thavarasa had provided a “due diligence” defence, the committee heard.

PC John Taylor, of Gwent Police, said the CCTV footage of the incident shown privately to the committee was “quite damning”.

A representative from the local health board, Simon Hodsdon, told the committee underage alcohol consumption could affect “brain and body development” and was linked to other harmful behaviours.

Representing Mr Thavarasa, Macie Channing told the committee “we acknowledge the wide concerns that exist”.

“The licence holder does recognise the seriousness of the incident, and we do not seek to minimise those at all”, she said, adding the incident was “a major error”.