Five North Tyneside shop at risk of having licenses revoked

Five North Tyneside shops caught selling alcohol to underage teens are now at risk of having their alcohol licenses revoked.

Last week, officers from North Shields Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) and Northumbria Police cadets paired up with North Tyneside Council’s Trading Standards Team to carry out test purchases at a range of local off-licenses and shops.

Two of the Force’s trained cadets, both aged 16, were asked to enter each shop and attempt to buy alcohol – and were denied service by one shop.

However, the underage cadets were allowed to leave five stores in the borough with booze.

The five stores, located in Forest Hall, Dudley, Wallsend and North Shields will now risk losing their license to sell alcohol.

Sergeant James Younas, of Northumbria Police, said: “Alcohol is a known to fuel anti-social behaviour and this initiative of identifying and restricting underage teenagers’ access to alcohol is just one example of how we’re successfully working with our partners at North Tyneside Council to crack down on the potential for any anti-social disorder.

“This all ties into the work we’re doing as part of Operation Coastwatch as the summer comes in and the temptation for youngsters to partake in underage drinking heightens, especially as the schools break up for summer.”

He added: “We work closely with all of our licensed premises to ensure they offer a safe environment for the public, abide by the law and uphold their licensing conditions.

“However, on this occasion these five premises have clearly fallen short of this requirement by selling alcohol to underage minors. As a result, enforcement action is being considered which may include a review of their licences.

“We will continue to work with our partners and the communities we serve to ensure all premises operate within the law, and I hope this sends out a strong message to others that we will take firm and robust action against any premises that act unlawfully.”