TWO off-licences in east Durham have had their licences to sell alcohol revoked following a crackdown by Durham County Council and Durham Constabulary on underage sales.

The two premises which had their licences revoked are High Colliery Post Office, Stockton Road, Seaham, and Vicky’s Supermarket, Marlborough, Seaham.

The determinations under the Licensing Act 2003 were made at a Durham County Council licensing committee hearing.

In the case of High Colliery Post Office the committee heard how in November 2015 a bottle of vodka was seized by the local police beat team from a young person, which was traced back to the premises.

The council’s consumer protection service followed up on the incident as part of a test purchasing exercise. On this occasion a 15-year-old child volunteer was served with a bottle of wine by the same employee, despite having no ID.

Despite representations from the premise licence holder, the committee was not convinced that the necessary systems and procedures were in place to prevent further illegal sales and revoked the licence.

The committee also heard representations concerning Vicky’s Supermarket which in January 2016 had sold alcohol to a 15-year-old child volunteer on two occasions within a week during the same test purchase exercise.

The premises licence holder voluntarily surrendered his licence just before the committee hearing took place but the committee heard the review in his absence and agreed to revoke the licence.

Anyone with information relating to the sale of alcohol to young people is encouraged to either call Crimestoppers on 0800-555111 or County Durham Consumer Protection team on 03000-261016.