29 Shops Caught In "Spy Kids" Alcohol Operation

An undercover operation by police and trading standards officers saw children aged 15 and 16 sent into 88 outlets across the borough.The "spy kids" were able to purchase alcohol on 29 occasions - a third of the number of targeted shops. Around 50 off-licences and licensed grocery stores were visited over the past two months, together with superstores. Out of 88 attempts to buy alcohol, 17 were successful from off-licences and 12 from supermarkets.

The members of staff who illegally sold the alcohol to the children were issued with £80 fixed penalty fines and the outlet owners warned that further selling of alcohol to customers under the age of 18 could result in the closure of their businesses when new Licensing Act powers come into force later this year.

Tony Bunn, Bury Councils principal trading standards officer, said: "The findings off this campaign show that Bury is pretty much in line with the illegal sale of alcohol to minors across the North West. We are not surprised by the results but we are disappointed."

"Alcohol-related crime and anti social behaviour has been one of the priorities for the local authority and police for some time. Under the new Licensing Act, repeated fixed penalty notices can lead to the closure of premises for a period of time or to heavy fines for the licensee."

Trading Standards and the police have pledged to continue to use the tactic of under-age volunteers to attempt purchases of alcohol together with other legislative means in an effort to combat the problem of underage drinking and youths causing annoyance on the streets of Bury.

Chief Superintendent Janette McCormick, head of Bury Police, said: "Those supermarkets and off licences must realise the wide consequences of selling alcohol to underage people and we are determined to tackle the problems that drunken teenagers cause. We will use all the powers of the new licensing regime in tandem with other legislation to help us tackle this problem."