A STORE in Hook could lose its licence to sell alcohol today after failing a sting operation by trading standards officers.

A 16-year-old girl, volunteering for Hampshire County Council’s Trading Standards department, was able to buy four cans of lager for £5.40 from Premier Stores, in Grand Parade.

Keyur Patel, the premises licence holder, has been summoned to attend a hearing today at the Civic Offices in Fleet, after Trading Standards requested Hart District Council review the licence given to him in 2007.

A report prepared for the meeting by principal licensing officer David King said Trading Standards officer Paul Worrall accompanied the teenager to the store.

Mr King wrote: “She was served by a shop assistant called Bhavesh Patel. However, the premises licence holder Keyur Patel was also nearby when the sale took place.”

Mr Worrall escorted the teenager out of the store and when he returned, Bhavesh Patel had disappeared. Keyur Patel told Mr Worrall his employee was out at the back, but when he did not return after a few minutes, a second Trading Standards officer went outside and found him in London Road, walking away from the shop.

Mr King added that the licence review was being sought not only for the failure of the test purchase operation, but “because there have been many complaints made to them of children being able to purchase alcohol and tobacco” at the store.

Requests made by Trading Standards to install a CCTV camera in the store had been ignored by Mr Patel, the report added.

The licensing hearing will take place at 10am, with the committee having the option of suspending the licence or altering its conditions.