Last updated at 17:18, Wednesday, 10 March 2010

ADULTS buying alcohol for youths is among the biggest problems for police in Ulverston.

Sergeant Rupert Johnston told Monday’s Ulverston Town Council meeting that adults are purchasing booze in off-licences on behalf of under-18s – an offence known as proxy sales.

Sgt Johnston said: “This issue of proxy purchases is a definite problem. Sometimes it is pre-arranged and sometimes it is a case of people stood outside waiting and asking adults to buy alcohol for them and they do.”

The meeting was told police had successfully prosecuted a 60-year-old man from the Croftlands estate after he took money from under-18s to buy alcopops from an off-licence.

The man was given an £80 fixed penalty notice, but Sgt Johnston told the Evening Mail offenders can be charged, depending on factors such as the specifics of the purchase and previous convictions.

Sgt Johnston told the meeting: “We are working with Trading Standards to look specifically at this situation.

“The off-licences in the town are very pro-police in their approach and are helping us with this.

“Bargain Booze has been very good and gave us CCTV footage and staff have even gone out of the shop after people where they feel a purchase seemed strange.”

Sgt Johnston said it appears to be mainly 15 and 16-year-old youths involved with the proxy sales.

Haydn Hicks, Bargain Booze owner, told the Evening Mail: “We were the first in the town to operate the 25 check, where anyone appearing to be under-25 is asked for ID.

“Our tills were upgraded so no staff can serve anybody making any alcohol or tobacco-related purchase without getting a prompt to ask the customer for ID.

“We’re doing the same with proxy sales. All the staff have been trained and they all go through the whole procedure of learning to spot the irregular purchases.

“For example, somebody buying three-and-a-half litres of vodka when one litre will do.

“I’m proud of the fact all my staff are on the ball and up to the minute and way ahead of a lot of other competitors, working closely with the police and the community.”

Yesterday, the deputy manager at the Co-op in Market Street, said she was not aware of such a problem at the store.

Kevin Lackey, boss at Hart Street Stores, said proxy sales had been a real issue at the shop in the past, but said the problem appears to have faded in recent times.

PC Nigel Tallontire told the Evening Mail in November 2008 that proxy sales were the town’s number one policing priority at that time.

First published at 13:14, Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk