Five shops across Egremont and Cleator have failed a test by Cumbria Police to see if they would sell alcohol to a young person without challenging for ID.

Local officers in Copeland have carried out a test purchase operation in which all stores tested failed for selling alcohol to a young person.

The operation was carried out in Egremont and Cleator Moor yesterday, April 13, following reports of alcohol-related anti-social behaviour in the area.

This operation is part of the work ongoing to address this issue by testing stores’ vigilance.

Five stores were visited during the operation with a person underage attempting to buy alcohol, and all five stores failed the test purchase operation by selling alcohol to the underage person.

Sergeant Scott Adam said: “This is not the result we wanted, all five stores have not failed previous test purchasing operations so we will be looking to educate them on challenging for ID.

“I hope this acts as a warning to stores to ensure they challenge those they believe might be underage, who have a professional duty not to sell alcohol to children.

“We are aware of some issues in Egremont and Cleator Moor of disorder specifically alcohol-related anti-social behaviour among young people.

“Officers will continue to be proactive in responding to concerns of residents and urge stores to always challenge for ID when they suspect a person, under the legal age, is attempting to purchase alcohol.

“We work very closely with partner agencies, businesses and local residents to tackle antisocial behaviour and we continually look to address the concerns of the communities we serve.”