Shropshire Licensees Urged to Join 'Challenge 25' Scheme

The police Licensing Officer for Shropshire is urging licensees to adopt a national initiative to help them identify underage drinkers.

Mr Tony Mantle says licensees need to tighten up their checks or else risk being penalised - including possibly having their licence revoked.

His warning to publicans, nightclubs, restaurants, off-licences and other alcohol licence holders follows the shocking results of a test purchasing operation carried out by Shropshire Trading Standards supported by the police.

The operation, conducted at weekends throughout July and August using 16 and 17-year-olds, resulted in 14 out of 19 licensed premises in Bridgnorth, Oswestry and Shrewsbury failing the test.

Mr Mantle, who described the results as "extremely disappointing", said the responsibility in establishing if customers were aged 18 before serving alcohol, lay firmly with licensees and their staff.

"My advice to all premises selling alcohol is to adopt a ‘Challenge 25' policy. This is a nationally recognised scheme whereby if a person looks under the aged of 25, they should be asked to prove they are 18.

"Driving licences, passports and Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) hologrammed cards, should all be accepted."

He said Trading Standards officers had been involved in test purchase operations, mainly in off-licenses, for a number of years. "Initially, figures of 75 per cent plus failed the tests, but over a period of time, the Challenge message has borne fruit. In recent times, less than 10 per cent tested have failed."

The police and Trading Standards officers have warned that the recent test purchasing exercise - know as Operation Knight - is not a one off and will be an ongoing process at premises across the county.

Chief Inspector Martin Whitelegg said: "We will come down hard on premises who disregard the law by selling alcoholic drinks to young people under 18. There is no excuse. It is the responsibility of licensees and their staff to ensure all customers are over 18 before being served alcohol. If there is any doubt, they should ask for proof of age, and if they are still in doubt, then the customer should not be served."

He said fixed penalty notices with £80 fines were issued to licensees who failed the test purchases during Operation Knight. "It's a fixed penalty on the first occasion but obviously further tests will be made in the future, and if premises fail a second time, the police will make immediate application for a review of their licence."

David Edwards, Head of Shropshire Council's Public Protection department, said: "The recent test purchasing results are very disappointing given the high profile alcohol work that has been conducted in the last few years, particularly at off-licences.

"During the licensing process, all pubs must submit plans to the Licensing Authority in which they demonstrate how they will protect children from harm. The evidence from Operation Knight is that many pubs are failing in their responsibilities to children and to the community.

"We are determined to improve compliance and to improve it quickly. Our aim is to see the same kind of improvement in the pub trade as we did at off-licences and supermarkets. I fully expect this to be the wake-up call the sector needed to clean-up its act."

Issued: Thursday 2 September 2010