RETAILERS in a village have agreed to ban the sale of energy drinks to children in an effort to reduce anti-social behaviour.

Shop owners in Colburn in Richmondshire have signed up to the Responsible Retailer scheme and agreed to refuse the sale of energy drinks to under-16s.

The Safer Richmondshire Hub, which includes Richmondshire District Council, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire County Council Trading Standards, recognised that energy drinks were having a negative effect on anti-social behaviour in Colburn and worked with the Colburn Youth Council to understand the buying habits of young people and their perceptions about energy drinks.

They also designed a poster to warn of the dangers associated with excessive consumption.

Of the 74 young people who responded to the survey, 66 per cent said they bought energy drinks after school and 73 per cent bought them from the local shop.

The North Yorkshire County Council Trading Standards Responsible Retailer scheme requires those signed up to ensure laws on age-restricted sales are followed while recognising any issues in their local community to which they are contributing.

Throughout last month, Gurkha’s Corner and Cross Lane Stores worked with Trading Standards to ensure robust age verification procedures were adopted and as a result they have now introduced the voluntary ban of sales of energy drinks to under-16s and becoming the first North Yorkshire businesses to receive the Responsible Retailer award.

This voluntary ban will also be supported by the supermarkets Co-op, NISA and Lidl, all of which have shops in Colburn.

Councillor Andrew Lee, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for Growth, Planning and Trading Standards, said: “Retailers have an important role to play in ensuring our young people cannot access potentially dangerous products and we urge North Yorkshire retailers to comply with both their legal and social obligations.’’