Shop loses alcohol licence over behaviour fears

The shop owner said the store would have to close if the licence was revoked

A shop branded a "significant contributor" to anti-social behaviour problems in a town centre has lost its licence to sell alcohol.

Dhillon Food & Wine, known as Rowntrees, on Dovecot Street in Stockton, had its licence revoked by Stockton Council after it was found to have sold cider to street drinkers in the early morning.

The store's supervisor told licensing officers the business relied on selling the drinks to survive, with cider taking up more than half of its sales.

Muhammed Adnan Rabani, who has run the shop since April, said the store would be forced to close if it lost its licence.

He denied selling to those with alcohol problems and said the offending drinks were "gone" and banned from the shop.

Footage which showed "intoxicated" street drinkers exiting the shop with cans and drinking outside it between April and July was shown at the meeting.

Licensing officer Elliott Beevers said one group was seen gathering outside as early as 06:40 BST, and 17 customers bought strong cider in an hour, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

He told the hearing: "It has been confirmed 50% of the shop sales are from low-cost, high-strength supply of cans of cider, the drink of choice for some of the most vulnerable and deprived residents of the borough."

Mr Beevers said a girl who looked underage was also served a can of cider unchallenged, although the shop maintained she was a 22-year-old regular.

'Horrendous time'

Mr Rabani told officers he knew the people on the videos and said it was "what they are like normally", disputing their drunkenness.

He said he would have refused a sale to one man who appeared very drunk, but he would have served another described as shirtless, stumbling and swaying on the footage as that was "his normal state" and he was not drunk.

He said the drinkers' presence at the shop was not his fault, claiming a charity and food bank next door attracted the clientele and saying another shop also sold high-strength cans.

The council's problem solving and partnerships officer Adam Bateman said cider cans carrying Rowntrees labels were littered in the bushes and in Queen's Park, on the other side of the town centre.

Gill Sherratt, representing Mr Rabani, said he had a "horrendous time", with staff subjected to abuse and bad treatment, in the six months running a shop "he wishes he'd never bought".

"Mr Rabani has tried his best, he might not be perfect but to revoke his licence and take this shop away is highly disproportionate," she said.

Ms Sherratt said Mr Rabani had decades of "flawless" retail experience, ran other shops without problems, and that the main problem with the shop was its location.

Gill Sherratt told council licensing officers the shop's location was the main problem with anti-social behaviour

The committee agreed to revoke the shop's licence, but an appeal can be made to magistrates within 21 days of a written decision.

Mr Rabani also applied for another shop, the Yarm Lane Convenience Store, to serve alcohol for one hour longer until 23:00, which was granted by the committee.