THE boss of a Basingstoke medicine shop has defended his business after it was visited by Government watchdogs following a complaint from an angry mother.

The woman, from Pamber End, was unhappy that her 15-year-old daughter had been sold herbal treatments for acne costing £50 without her permission.

She claimed the medicines were not labelled and her daughter was not asked about her family's medical history.

The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect her daughter's embarrassment, told The Gazette: "I was very angry. If my daughter had an accident and someone asked what medication she was on I would not have been able to tell them."

The complaint about the Chinese Herbal Medicine and Acupuncture Centre in Church Street was passed from Hampshire Trading Standards department to the Medicines Control Agency - a national watchdog.

However, a spokesman for the agency told The Gazette it found nothing amiss with the remedies sold in Basingstoke after its visit in November.

The shop's managing director Dr, Liu Zudong, said the Medicines Control Agency had not detailed any specific complaints when they visited. But he added that if medicines had not been labelled then it was "a very serious mistake" which he would investigate.

He said he could see nothing wrong in selling safe herbal remedies to a 15-year-old.

Dr Zudong said all the staff had undergone years of traditional medicine training in China and would always act professionally.

He said: "We are a herbalist and not a pharmacist and you cannot guarantee herbal medicine will be 100 per cent satisfactory in each case - even a chemist doesn't guarantee that."