Under-age drinking has frequently been linked to anti-social behaviour

28 pubs, clubs and off-licences have failed alcohol purchasing tests as part of an ongoing scheme by Lancashire Police.

97 premises in Preston were tested, with nearly 200 tests conducted in total, according to information obtained by Blog Preston.

There were 39 fails, where those serving alcohol failed to check for ID.

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The majority of the failures were one-off occurrences, with the premise then going on to pass a test at a later date.

One shopkeeper, who wished to remain anonymous, works at one of the premises that failed an alcohol purchase test, told Blog Preston:

“I find it difficult to work out the ages of some customers by appearance alone. The time of day that people come in also plays a big part.

“We’re obviously extra-vigilant during the day particularly school hours, but it could be argued that we’re less so in the evening and at weekends.”

However, there were some repeat offenders, with four off-licences and two pubs failing two tests; and two off-licences failing three separate tests.

Premier Stores, New Hall Lane, failed three continuous test-purchases but has since passed two further tests without fail, one in December 2009, and the most recent in March.

Woodplumpton Post Office & Village Store was another culprit of a triple failure; the shop, on Woodplumpton Road, has been subject to six tests in total, failing three, the latest in February.

68 premises managed to pass all their tests without a single fail.

The step-up in preventing underage drinking has been fuelled in part by concerns at PACT meetings, where anti-social behaviour and underage drinking appear closely linked.

The test-purchases were made over a period of 16 months, between January 2009 and April 2010.

One failure:

Black Bull, Bonitos, Booze Brothers, Bushells, Co-op (Harewood Road), Grapes Inn, Greyfriars, H&V, JJ’s, Londis, Megasave, Mr Booze, Nisa, One Stop, Premier Stores (Plungington Road), Red Rose Wines, Revolution, Spar (Plungington Road), Vals, Withy Trees.

Two failures:

Bali Mart (Ribbleton Lane), Bargain Booze (New Hall Lane), Happy Shopper, Hesketh Arms, Spar (Black Bull), Stanley Arms.

Three failures:

Premier Stores (New Hall Lane), Woodplumpton Post Office.

View Failed alcohol-purchase tests in a larger map