A town centre shop where trading standards officers suspected "runners" were being used to bring in illicit goods has had a booze licence request turned down. Objections were made from the police and the council’s licensing team on the granting of an alcohol licence for Farnworth Mini-Markets on Higher Market Street in Farnworth. The application requested permission to sell booze Sunday to Thursday from 8am to midnight and Friday and Saturday 8am to 2am.
Evidence put before the licensing panel included that a previous application for alcohol sales at the shop was refused in May. A licensing team statement, published by the council ahead of the hearing, detailed suspicions about "runners" operating at the premises. It said: “Since the licence was refused the shop has been visited by officers and found to be mostly closed, but on the odd occasion it has been open no alcohol was on sale.
“On Thursday July 25, a further visit was made by trading standards, and a quantity of non-compliant illegal vaping products were discovered on sale. "It was also noted that there were two young males in and around the shop, who were suspected to be acting as runners between the shop and an unidentified location nearby, thought to be storing the illicit products.” The applicant told trading standards officers the two men suspected as being runners by the officers "were his friends".
During the licensing hearing, a representative for the applicant said "there was no actual evidence to sup.