Bosses of an off-licence where staff were caught selling alcopops and wine to under-age drinkers have been fined for the second time in three weeks.

Brighton and City Council is considering taking legal action against Mulberry Wines in Whitehawk Road, Brighton, after a 16-year-old police cadet posing as an 18-year-old was able to buy alcohol during an undercover operation.

Licensees Samantha Marmont and Carla Manville said they backed the police blitz on under-age drinking and from now on would sack staff caught selling alcohol to minors.

Miss Marmont said: "From today, we are retraining all our staff and telling them they must ask anyone who looks under 25 for identification.

"They have got be extra vigilant and make sure absolutely no one slips through."

Last month, the pair became the first licensees to receive a new £80 fixed-penalty notice when a police officer spotted a 15-year-old boy leaving the shop with a bag of vodka alcopops.

They were caught again when police and Brighton and Hove City Council trading standards officers carried out an undercover investigation at the weekend.

Ray Moore, Brighton and Hove City Council principal trading standards officer, said: "We are very concerned about Mulberry Wines."

He said inquiries were continuing and there could be further action.

Four other supermarkets and off-licences caught selling alcohol to under-18s have been named and shamed.

Assistants at Sainsbury's in Lewes Road, Brighton, Asda at Brighton Marina, Alldays in Hangleton Road, Hove, and the Co-op in Whitehawk Road, Brighton, were all fined.

Spokesmen from Asda, Sainsbury's, the Co-op and Alldays said they were retraining staff.

PC Gavin Crute, from the police licensing department, said: "It is fair to say the £80 fine is far in excess of what they (shop assistants) were likely to have earned for that evening's work.

"Our message to staff at licensed premises is to remain vigilant and alert to the fact young people may be trying to obtain alcohol from their premises and to be robust when checking for identification."

Thursday, December 8, 2005