Bamber Bridge shop loses alcohol licence after selling lager to children

Harleys Convenience Store in Station Road, Bamber Bridge, sold a 16-year-old boy four cans of Kronenburg lager in April last year, then in October, sold four cans of Fosters lager to a 14-year-old girl. Both were part of South Ribble Council’s test purchasing operations.

This week, the licensing committee decided to suspend the licence for two months, bar a member of staff from being on the premises at all times, and remove the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), Jacquelyn Bramley.

On the first occasion, a boy was served by Miss Bramley, and in the second instance, a girl was sold alcohol by Miss Bramley’s son, Christopher Scott, who had no training to do so.

Lancashire Police had called on South Ribble Council to revoke the licence, stating: “The management of the premise is extremely poor, the current DPS is not in day to day control and the current premise licence conditions are inadequate for the current business.”

Miss Bramley gained her premises licence in January 2018, claiming there would be minimal involvement by her son. But in May, she was taken ill, and Mr Scott took over the running of the shop.

When the 26-year-old was confronted about his illegal sale, he said: “I hold my hands up, I’m not going to disagree, I was rushing. I was very busy, I should have asked her.”

In December, the shop was visited again by officials and another member of staff was found behind the counter with no documented training for the sale of alcohol.

The licence holder was approached by the Lancashire Post, but declined to comment other than to say they would be appealing the decision.