A store in Croydon has been fined £4,000 by magistrates after Croydon Council prosecuted the store for selling alcohol to a child during a test purchase.

At Croydon Magistrates Court, VP and Sons Ltd, who trade as Ellalan Supermarket in London Road, admitted selling a Smirnoff vodka and cola mixed drink to a person under 18.

The council regularly checks if shops follow the law and verify age to protect children from buying things they shouldn't.

The magistrates on October 30 found that there was no attempt by the member of staff at Ellalan Supermarket to establish the child’s age during the test purchase on February 15, and there had been a failure to police sales.

They also found that no training had been given to the sales assistant on selling alcohol to children and that a letter warning about upcoming test purchases in the area had been ignored.

Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon, said: “This is an incredibly serious offence and I would like to thank our trading standards team on their successful prosecution.

“Protecting children and young people from the dangers of age-prohibited items means making Croydon a safer and healthier place for us all to live.

“We will continue to work with businesses to advise them on their legal obligations, but as a council we cannot tolerate irresponsible and dangerous trading.”

If you have information about the sale of age-restricted items such as alcohol, knives, vapes or cigarettes in Croydon, you can report it via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.