A CONVENIENCE store is set to be stripped of its alcohol licence for a second time after repeatedly selling booze to under-age customers.

Civic chiefs have ruled that the family-run Best-One shop in Rumbridge Street, Totton, should be banned from selling alcohol for four weeks.

Police had urged the district council's licensing sub-committee to either revoke the licence or suspend it for three months.

It follows a series of incidents in which alcohol was sold to people under the age of 18.

As reported in the Daily Echo, a 17-year-old youth was found to have bought a large bottle of whisky at the store in October last year.

A report to the sub-committee said the staff member responsible was later handed a £90 fixed penalty notice.

But the following month the shop failed a test purchase operation staged by police, selling lager to a 16-year-old who was accompanied by someone a year younger. The store also failed a test purchase carried out in December 2011.

Also known as Goldsmiths, Best-One was barred from selling alcohol for three days following the two incidents last year.

However, police asked councillors to impose a longer ban, despite acknowledging that improvements had been made.

Officers criticised Manish Parmar, the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS), over gaps in staff training.

Dick Hudson, Mr Parmar's representative at the hearing, said the 17-year-old looked “considerably older” but should have been subject to what he described as the appropriate checks.

Referring to the incident the following month he admitted: “It simply should not have happened.”

But Mr Hudson also listed all the improvements made in the wake of the two incidents, saying the under-age sales had resulted in “a considerable shake-up” at the premises.

Mr Parmar added: “I have now got a strong hold over the business. Any member of staff who fails, goes.”

After retiring for an hour members of the three-man sub-committee said they had decided to suspend the store's alcohol licence for four weeks.

The chairman, Cllr Goff Beck, said: “The sub-committee takes the sale of alcohol to minors extremely seriously.

“It was particularly concerned that the premises failed a test purchase less than a month after a staff member had been issued with a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) for selling a bottle of whisky to a 17-year-old.

“The sub-committee considered that the DPS had not taken sufficiently seriously his obligation to ensure that all staff were adequately trained.”

The shop now has 21 days in which to appeal against the council's decision.