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31 Aug 07Underage Sales Prosecution
Borough of Poole's Environmental and Consumer Protection Services (E&CPS) has successfully prosecuted a store for selling cigarettes to an underage person.
Martin McColl Ltd, of Culliford Crescent, Poole, was fined £1,100 and ordered to pay £1,600 costs at a hearing at Poole Magistrates Court on August 29, after pleading guilty to selling tobacco to a person under 16.
The store was prosecuted under Section 7 (1) of the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act 1991, which makes it an offence for tobacco or cigarette papers to be sold to persons under the age of sixteen.
On December 16, 2006, a shop assistant sold ten Mayfair King cigarettes to a 13-year-old female without requesting any identification or questioning her age. The female volunteer attempted the purchase under the guidance of E&CPS staff.
The court heard that the shop assistant, who had only been employed for a short period of time, had undertaken some training. However, there was some question about the level of supervision at the time of the sale.
Martin McColl Ltd was one of six premises targeted in December 2006 as part of a test purchase operation carried out by E&CPS staff. This is the second prosecution to come out of this test purchase operation - another Poole store was also found guilty and fined on July 23, after pleading guilty to the same offence.
Cllr Don Collier, Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: "This is the second prosecution to come out of the test purchase operation from December 2006. The fine shows that the courts are taking underage sales seriously. E&CPS will continue to work with local stores to ensure that all staff have the appropriate level of training."
From the October 1, 2007, it will be an offence to sell cigarettes to a person under the age of 18.
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