Third Person Fined For Buying Underage Youngsters Alcohol

A third person has been fined for buying alcohol on behalf of underage youngsters as part of an ongoing clampdown in Ludlow.

The man, who is in his 40s, was seen at the end of June handing over a box of Carlsberg lager in the street to a teenager known to be below the legal drinking age.

He has since admitted the offence and received a fixed penalty notice of £80.

PC Dan Wood, local police officer for Ludlow Town, said anyone identified as having purchased alcohol for a minor (‘proxy purchasing' for short), would be dealt with.

It is a criminal offence to buy alcohol for or on behalf of a person under the age of 18.

A 22-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were both given fixed penalty notices of £80 in April after admitting they had been buying alcohol for minors in separate incidents.

PC Wood said: "People buying alcohol on behalf of those who are underage are committing and offence and it has been raised with us as a concern.

"We will continue to identify and ticket those who break the law in this way until the message starts to get through."

Police are working closely with Shropshire Council, which is part of the Ludlow Community Alcohol Partnership (L-CAP).

Frances Darling, Trading Standards Manager with Shropshire Council, said they were committed to dealing with proxy purchasing.

"This latest incident makes it quite clear that the local policing team is prepared to take action when they find evidence that adults are buying alcohol for minors," she said.

"The work of the police in this case absolutely supports the work of the L-CAP. I very much hope that the people of Ludlow will also get behind the partnership and support it in any way they can."

Issued: Thursday 22 July 2010