Supervisors from two shops face prosecution and a worker at a third store has been fined in a police operation targeting the sale of alcohol to minors.

Teenagers went into premises with undercover police in Marston, Barton, Headington and Wood Farm and attempted to buy alcohol on Saturday night.

The designated store supervisors at Girdlestone Stores in Girdlestone Road, Wood Farm, and Wine Palace in Westlands Drive, Headington, now face prosecution for allegedly selling alcohol to a minor, said Pc Jon Shaw, one of the officers on the exercise.

A staff member at Salford Stores in Salford Road, Marston, was issued with an £80 fine for failing to challenge one of the girls about her age.

No-one from Salford Stores was available for comment.

The operations were carried out after police received “intelligence” about the alleged sale of alcohol to those who were underage.

Pc Shaw, based at St Aldate’s police station, said officers always returned to the store after test purchasing operations to remind staff about the law surrounding the sale of alcohol.

He said: “It was all off-licenses or general stores.

“The fact we had a hit in three stores shows that our intelligence is correct and there is a need for us to continue doing these operations.

“If employees are in any doubt, they should ask for identification. If they don’t have identification, don’t sell it to them.”

New Marston Stores in Marston Road, Co-op and Costcutters in Old Marston Road, Balfour News in Cherwell Drive and Arkwrights in Barton, all passed the test.

Pc Chris Miles, who headed the operation, said: “Antisocial behaviour is one of the main priorities in all our neighbourhoods, and a lot of antisocial behaviour is alcohol related, so it’s important to crack down on it.

“This is one of the best ways of doing it.

“The results were good. We are going to try to make it a more regular operation.”

He added: “It’s not all about enforcement, it’s about education too.

“It’s about making people aware of the law.”

Tony Cope, licensing officer for Thames Valley Police, said the test purchasing operations were a way of highlighting lapses in stores’ checking procedures. He said: “We are acting on intelligence. We are not picking on or targeting one particular aspect of the licensing trade.

“Youths have had alcohol confiscated in the vicinity and it’s nearly always linked back to the premises.”

He added: “This is quite a good result because it means our intelligence is right.

“We always go back into the premises afterwards and make sure they don’t fall foul of the law again.”

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