Half of shops and pubs tested in Gosport sold alcohol to children, say police

POLICE believe that shops and pubs are getting ‘complacent’ when it comes to selling alcohol to children.
Five of the ten tested establishments failed the testFive of the ten tested establishments failed the test
Five of the ten tested establishments failed the test

Last Sunday, Hampshire police carried out juvenile test purchases at 10 pubs and shops in Gosport – with half of these failing the test.

Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) and community resolutions were issued – and police will be checking on these places at a later date.

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Hampshire police have refused to identify the five sites that failed this test.

Five of the ten tested establishments failed the testFive of the ten tested establishments failed the test
Five of the ten tested establishments failed the test

PC Jason Pearce from Hampshire's Licensing Team said: ‘All failing premises will receive follow-up engagement to help assess their processes and procedures along with recommendations to help make improvements.

‘Documented training, till systems, refusals and ID check logs are all the basics that should be in place but all too often are not.

‘Failing premises will be re-tested and a further failure will result in more robust intervention – but at this time we seek to help educate to work with the premises.

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‘Overall this is a poor test with premises very complacent about age verification.’

Gosport Borough Councillor Rob Hylands is also the landlord of The Foresters Arms in Anns Hill Road.

He says that failings like this simply ‘should not happen’.

Cllr Hylands said: ‘It is a concerning statistic, but if the staff are doing their job properly, this should not happen.

‘If there is any doubt that someone is even under the age of 25, they would be ID-ed.

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‘The difficulty comes when it is busy, or when groups come in and the person with ID comes to the bar – you have to watch out for that sort of thing.

‘The police do usually target places that they think might be selling alcohol to juveniles, so that sways the statistic somewhat – but is is worrying nonetheless.’