Copthorne convenience store keeps premises licence despite selling alcohol to a child

But Mid Sussex District Council’s liquor licensing panel warned Morrisons Daily that the licence could be suspended or taken away should any other breaches occur.

During a meeting of the panel on Friday (September 22), members were told that West Sussex Trading Standards had received information that children had been sold vapes and alcohol from the shop in Church Road.

Officers paid a visit in August 2022, giving advice to ensure staff had been correctly trained.

But on February 8, a test purchase saw a WKD Blue alcopop sold to a child.

Jon Bryant, senior licensing officer, told the meeting that, when confronted, the staff member who sold the alcohol said he had been trained but didn’t know what the Challenge 25 policy was or what the refusals log was.

By June, the manager no longer worked at the shop and the staff member had been fired.

Trading Standards officers felt there had been a failure of the management at Morrisons Daily to promote the licensing objectives, namely the prevention of crime and disorder, and protecting children from harm.

Peter Aston, Trading Standards team manager, said: “I’m sure that the company will blame the individual employees involved – but there also needs to be some responsibility taken by senior officers and managers of the company, who clearly had no oversight of what was happening in the store, that the training was inadequate and procedures were not being followed.”

Alex Green, the solicitor representing Morrisons Daily, apologised for the ‘horrible error’ and told the meeting that additional training had been given to staff.

He added that further test purchases arranged by the company had been carried out and all successfully passed.

Mr Green said: “Everything has been done to ensure this sort of thing does not and cannot happen again.”

A number of conditions to the licence were agreed by all, including staff receiving refresher training on the Challenge 25 policy every three months, and the refusals log being reviewed monthly.

Trading Standards has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy when it comes to the sale of alcohol to children, and, with the support of Sussex Police, suggested a three-month suspension of the premises licence.

The panel, though, decided a suspension could not be justified given the ‘much improved’ training and the agreed conditions to the licence.

But chairman Julie Mockford told the Morrisons Daily representatives: “Should there be further incidences, you are more likely to receive a suspension or revocation of your licence.”