A convenience store which sold lager to 15-year-old and was found with counterfeit alcohol will not lose its licence.

Councillors rejected an application from trading standards to review the licence at Essex Food and Wine, Dagenham Road, Dagenham.

Bottles of spirits with no duty stamps were found in June 2010, while counterfeit wine was discovered in April 2011.

In September 2009 four cans of lager were sold to a 15-year-old volunteer during a test purchase exercise.

Concerns

A council report, put before members at a licensing and regulatory board meeting last week, said trading standards did not have confidence in the management team at the store and that they wanted to revoke the licence.

Speaking before the meeting licence holder Erhan Karakas said: “In regards to the counterfeit alcohol and the missing duty stamps, we buy our goods from cash and carry stores and it is hard to spot when the stuff is dodgy. Usually you are not allowed to open the box to check.

“My brother did not check for ID when the 15-year-old came, but that was a one-off. We are very strict now and ask for the ID of anyone who looks under 25.”

He said he would have been forced to close the shop if the licence was taken away.

Councillors also rejected an application by the Met Police to prevent Mr Karakas’s nephew, Murat Mor, becoming a licence holder at the store because he only worked part-time.

Licensing officers at the police believed Mr Mor would not have sufficient control of the business because he works part-time.