A Whitley Bay shop has been spared losing its alcohol licence after it was revealed the owner was a "victim" of a former employee.
A Lifestyle Express in Station Road, Whitley Bay, was up before councillors after a Northumbria Police and Trading Standards sting operation caught a salesperson selling alcohol to a minor on May 13 2022. No challenge was made and the sales assistant was issued with a £90 fixed penalty notice.
The operation was conducted after police received, on numerous occasions, intelligence regarding underage sales from the shop and anti-social behaviour in the area.
According to police officer Sergeant Steven Preston, he had witnessed an attempted sale to a child back in March 2022. He said: "As I entered the store [the employee] was behind the till. There was a female youth at the counter who in my opinion looked no older than 15.
"As I entered the store [the employee] appeared to hide a bottle of alcohol underneath the counter out of my view. I asked if I could view the store's CCTV system to inquire about the allegations of underage sales to underage youths, however, he replied the CCTV system was not working."
In a written statement to Trading Standards the owner, Ms Rishanthini Subramaniyam, wrote: "This email is in regards to the sale of alcohol to a minor by my employee on the 13th May 2022. It has come to my awareness that [the employee] has not been serious in his work when I wasn't in the premises.
"I apologise for what has happened but just an apology would not fix what happened. I have been serious from day one I took this business.
"I have sat down [the employee] and he is on his final warning. I would never want an employee to ruin my personal licence or business."
Ms Subramaniyam clarified that the former employee's "final warning" was in fact an eight-week notice period.
During the licensing hearing, Ms Subramaniyam and her lawyer, Matt Foster of Mincoffs, claimed the former employee had been turning off the shop's CCTV system during his shifts. The ex-employee is also alleged to have stolen money from the business.
The employee was also seen entering the shop for unknown reasons while not on shift.
In light of this information, the police did not pursue revocation of the alcohol licence and Sgt Preston said Ms Subramaniyam was also a "victim" in all this. Instead, they favoured a set of conditions to be placed on the existing licence.
After deliberation, the licensing sub-committee did not revoke the licence but imposed several conditions on the shop's existing licence. Examples include the adoption of 'Challenge 25' and more secure CCTV technology.
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