A greengrocer and off-licence has been stripped of its permission to sell alcohol after being caught making a series of under-age sales.
The irresponsible trader was brought to book by Lambeth Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee when it met on Wednesday (Nov7) evening.
The action was taken against the Ackee Tree Greengrocer & Off-Licence in Landor Road, Clapham on the grounds of protecting children from harm and preventing crime and disorder.
Cllr Jack Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Public Protection, said: “We will not tolerate the irresponsible sale of alcohol anywhere in Lambeth and I am pleased to see that tough action has been taken.
“Illegal alcohol sales can have a serious effect on our community, increasing anti-social behaviour, crime and violence.
“This particular premises has been caught selling alcohol to under-18s four times, including on two separate occasions to girls who were just 15-years-old.”
In the most recent incident a 15-year-old girl was sold four 500ml cans of lager by one of the Ackee Tree’s licence holders during a test operation at lunchtime on Saturday, June 30.
On February 14 another 15-year-old girl was sold two cans of lager during another Lambeth Council Trading Standards organised test purchase.
Ackee Tree had previously been caught selling alcohol to 16-year-old boys in August 2010 and November 2009 and all four incidents resulted in £80 fixed penalty notices being issued for the offences by the police.
The premises licence which has been revoked was held by Trevor Barnett and Paul Grant, and allowed alcohol sales from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 11pm.
There were also no legally required signs saying tobacco would not be sold to under-18s at Ackee Tree and the business had also failed to keep a Refusals Register, which although not required by law is considered good practise.
Lambeth Council Trading Standards regularly run test purchasing operations to crack down on underage sales across the borough and remind shopkeepers of their responsibilities under the law.
The latest action was taken as part of Lambeth council’s Safer Communities campaign to highlight what we’re doing to make the borough a safer place. The campaign also shows how we are giving people in the borough more control over the council’s work with the police to reduce crime and the fear of crime.
For more details about the meeting visit www.lambeth.gov.uk/moderngov/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=116&MId=8176
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