A DEWSBURY off-licence caught selling alcohol to a child hopes to continue selling booze, though West Yorkshire Police (WYP) object.

WYP reports that Ravensthorpe Off Licence at 618 Huddersfield Road failed a test purchase on Wednesday, August 30, in which alcohol was sold to a person under the age of 18. This resulted in the licence holder, who was also the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) – the person who has day-to-day responsibility for the running of the premises – surrendering the licence immediately. He also informed police that he had sold the business and was no longer in charge of its operation.

Since the incident, an application has been submitted to Kirklees Council to transfer the licence to a new potential licence holder which would allow alcohol to be sold at the store. However, WYP has objected to this due to fears that the proposed transfer is “a way for the shop to keep retailing alcohol after failing a test purchase”.

In its objection, WYP wrote: “On entering the shop to make them aware that they failed, we talked to an Asian lady in her mid-thirties who confirmed she had made the sale. She confirmed that she had not challenged the child when the purchase was made.

“She also disclosed that she worked eight hours a day for £40, making her hourly rate £5 an hour, which is breaking employment law.

“The sale of alcohol to a child is a criminal offence and does pose harm to an underage person.

“When we contacted the DPS who was also the premises licence holder, he stated he had sold the business and was no longer in day-to-day control of the alcohol sales. When we explained what had happened and how the business was being run, he immediately surrendered the licence.

“We then requested the shop immediately stop selling alcohol as there was no DPS in place.”

The application will be decided by the council’s Licensing Panel next Wednesday (October 11).