A SHOP in Elsenham has had its licence to sell alcohol suspended for a month after twice being caught selling to underage customers. The One Stop store at Ambrose Corner failed an Essex County Council trading standard test purchases for alcohol in January

A SHOP in Elsenham has had its licence to sell alcohol suspended for a month after twice being caught selling to underage customers.

The One Stop store at Ambrose Corner failed an Essex County Council trading standard test purchases for alcohol in January and again in June.

Chairman of Uttlesford District Council's (UDC's) licensing committee, Cllr Eric Hicks, said: "The sale of alcohol to minors in Uttlesford is something that will not be tolerated and UDC as the licensing authority gives its full support to Essex Police to help prevent it."

After the store's first failure it was decided the premises would be able to keep its licence as long as it complied with a number of conditions including the installation of CCTV and extra training for staff.

The Challenge 25 scheme was also adopted, which stipulates that any customers who appear to be aged less than 25 must be asked for proof of age when they attempt to buy alcohol.

However, a trading standards officer returned to the store on June 20, where a second supervised test purchase was carried out. The store again sold alcohol to the underage test customer, a 14-year-old boy, leading to a second fixed penalty ticket being issued and another licence review being requested by police.

The licensing committee determined the application at a meeting held on Tuesday.

The One Stop's licence was suspended for a month.

The shop must satisfy further conditions before it can sell alcohol again: during opening hours a trained CCTV operative must always be present and at least two people must be on the shop floor, one of whom must hold a personal licence or have a BIIAB Level One Award in Responsible Alcohol Retailing or equivalent.

Cllr Hicks said: "Although the vast majority of licensed premises in Uttlesford fully abide with the law, we hope that this decision sends out a strong deterrent message: UDC, Essex County Council's trading standards department and Essex Police are actively seeking out shops selling alcohol to minors and taking action to ensure that this practice is stopped.