Shop owner charged £1,000 for selling booze to underage customer

A Middleton retailer who sold alcohol to a minor was fined by Rochdale Borough Council this week.

Priyesh Bhudia, owner of Jubilee Stores, was ordered to pay £1,000 after pleading guilty at Rochdale Magistrates Court on September 21 to selling a bottle of wine to an underage customer in March this year.

20-year-old Bhudia was also sentenced to a 12 month conditional discharge.

The sale took place during a routine Rochdale Borough Council undercover survey, in which an unpaid volunteer was able to buy alcohol despite being underage.

Dale Mulgrew, cabinet member responsible for community safety at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “It’s unacceptable for traders not to be challenging customers by asking for the appropriate identification especially when selling alcohol.

“We must limit children and young people’s access to alcohol which often fuels youth nuisance and anti-social behaviour. To do this we need the cooperation of all our retailers to commit to trading responsibly.”

Under the 2003 Licensing Act it is a criminal offence to sell alcohol to an individual under the age of 18. The maximum penalty for doing so is £5,000.

Andy Glover, Public Protection Manager at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We’re urging shops to act responsibly and ask for proof of age for the sale of all age restricted products.

“We take illegal sales very seriously, and any traders who sell alcohol to underage customers will be investigated and risk prosecution.”