A SHOP’S alcohol licence is under threat after it failed two underage alcohol sales tests.

Sussex Police have asked for Wild Park Local to lose its licence ahead of a review, after staff sold alcohol to 16-year-olds during test purchases six months apart.

A report going before a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel on Wednesday 2 March, said a fixed penalty notice was first issued to a member of staff who sold a bottle of rose wine to a 16-year-old girl on 17 June 2021.

Following the sale, the business’s designated premises supervisor (DPS) Mahendra Kumar Patel, who would have day-to-day responsibility for alcohol sales in the shop, was issued with a formal written letter.

In July, the DPS was changed from Mr Patel, who is also the premises licence holder, to Vaishali Patel.

Additional conditions were added to the licence in July, for no sales of beer, lager, cider or perry over six per cent in strength, CCTV installed, a challenge 25 policy adopted, and refusal logbooks and training logs be available for inspection at all times.

On 9 December 2021, a 16-year-old boy bought a can of Country Choice Dry Apple Cider from the same member of staff who made the sale in June.

A licensing check at the shop carried out simultaneously found cider on sale with an ABV of 7.55 per cent, no challenge 25 posters and no incident or refusal logs or training logs available for inspection.

When licensing officers visited the business to collect CCTV footage 20 days after it was requested, they found the high alcohol cider was still on sale.

The DPS had not signed the refusal log, and no training logs were available for inspection.

Miss Patel said she was trying to let the information about the test purchase “sink in” and did not want to lose the alcohol licence in response to emails from police licensing officer Hannah Staplehurst.

In her report, operations, planning and licensing inspector Michelle Palmer-Harris said: “Sussex Police do not feel this premises have responded to our stepped approach and have failed underage test purchases on two separate occasions involving the same member of staff.

“This is a serious concern, undermining the licensing objective of protection of children from harm, and further action should be considered.

“Due to the presence of conditions, added on the 23 July 2021, that are already aimed at preventing the sale of alcohol to underage persons and the lack of management action to adhere to the licence conditions, it is difficult to see what further conditions or other measures could be adopted.

“The recommendation of Sussex Police would be the revocation of the premises licence.”

The virtual licensing panel hearing is scheduled for webcast from 10am on Wednesday 2 March on the city council’s website.