A Bradford off-licence must stop selling alcohol for a month after staff were caught allowing children to buy alcohol three times in a year.

Lally’s Supersave, in Strensall Green, Buttershaw, will still be able to open for other goods, but its aisles of alcohol must be closed off for 28 days.

If follows a decision today by Bradford Licensing Panel which met at City Hall to discuss a review of the shop’s licence to sell alcohol, instigated by West Yorkshire Police.

Police licensing officer John Tyson told the panel Lally’s was one of ten venues targeted last year because of police intelligence as part of a Home Office campaign to tackle underage drinking.

Five visits were made to the shop and on two occasions 15-year-old test purchasers were able to buy alcohol. A letter was sent to the licence holder, Avtar Singh, offering advice, he said.

A third sale took place in February this year.

Mr Tyson said if the three instances had happened within three months Mr Singh would have immediately lost his licence and called for the panel to suspend it instead.

Mr Singh argued, through his solicitor, that all three instances happened when someone else was minding the store and that in fact the test purchasers’ success rate was only 50 per cent at this store.

He had previously told the Telegraph & Argus he had been suffering from ill-health and had asked relatives to step in while he recovered.

The store now has a new till which indicates to staff when alcohol has been scanned and prompts them to check a customer’s age.

Panel chairman Councillor Peter Hill said that as well as the suspension, an enhanced CCTV system must be installed before the shop can begin selling alcohol again. He also said an appropriate proof of age scheme such as Think 21 should be implemented.

He said: “We do take underage drinking very seriously. I do understand it is very difficult to police but you have been caught out three times, and that is three times too many.”