Gt Yarmouth: Training To Tackle Underage Alcohol Sales

14 February 2013, 05:00

Businesses and shop workers in Great Yarmouth have been getting special training as part of efforts to tackle sales of alcohol to kids who're underage.

Its as part of an ongoing initiative by the town's Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) to tackle underage sales  and also sales to people buying it for children.

The CAP was launched last April and is made up of organisations including Norfolk Trading Standards, police, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, major retailers such as Asda, Tesco and Sainsburys, health agencies and a host of voluntary and service organisations who work with individuals who have alcohol-related issues.

The aim of the group is to develop a culture where both adults and young people drink responsibly, where those underage are only able to access alcohol under responsible and informed supervision and where safe consumption limits are understood.

Through the partnership a number of sessions were organised for smaller retailers to allow staff to receive training around responsible alcohol sales, free of charge. Those attending were told about 'Challenge 25', a scheme that the partnership would like to see expanded across both off-licence and on-licence premises in the town, where anyone who appears to be under 25 is asked for proof of age before alcohol can be purchased.

As part of the training staff were encouraged to have confidence in asking for identification as, legally, they can be held responsible if they sell to anyone underage or if they sell to an adult where it is suspected that the alcohol is being proxy-bought for those underage.