Shop’s licence bid rejected over illegal vapes and ‘no regard’ for children’s safety

By: Robbie Macdonald, Local Democracy Reporter

A Rossendale shop has had a licence bid rejected after repeatedly selling vapes to children and having illegal products on its premises.

Management at the Ibra Superstore at 34 Burnley Road, Bacup, have shown ‘no regard’ for children’s protection and safety, and have insufficient controls for licensing, Rossendale councillors have ruled.

Ibrahim Mohammad, director of the Ibra Superstore, had recently applied to Rossendale Council for a new premises licence.  But the borough’s licensing sub-committee rejected his bid after a meeting which heard allegations from the police and trading standards officers.

The Burnley Road shop has been subject to various licensing changes and concerns in recent years. In the past, it was called Bacup Wines.

Ibrahim Mohammad, the applicant, attended the Rossendale licensing sub-committe meeting with his father, Amin Mohammad. Also there was PC Mick Jones, of Lancashire Constabulary, and Jason Middleton of Lancashire Trading Standards. Councillor Bob Bauld attended as an observer.

Mr Mohammad wanted a premises license for alcohol sales and opening hours from 8am to 11pm, seven days a week. He already had a personal licence. He said the Bacup shop would install a CCTV system, keep an incident log and a refusals record, check customers’ ages, display information about staff and give them regular training.

Trading standards officer Jason Middleton said Ibra Superstore Ltd was incorporated as a company in April 2023. Since then, trading standards had received 11 complaints about under-age sales and carried out visits.

Breaches included non-compliant vapes being found which broke a 2ml limit on the quantity of nicotine-containing liquid, no age checks and no information on display.

During one visit, Amin Mohammad tried to leave with a bag containing 10 illegal vapes. In test purchases by trading standards, an ‘Elf Bar’ vape was sold to a 14-year-old by Amin Mohammad and an illegal Hayati Pro Max vape to a 13-year-old by Ibrahim Mohammad. The shop claimed a phone call distracted staff during the 13-year-old’s purchase and illegal vapes came from ‘a man in  car’.

Councillors heard different speakers, looked at written reports and also some video footage from the applicant. But they rejected the premises licence bid.

Giving their reasons, they stated: “There was a repeated history and pattern of behaviour regarding under-age sales of age-restricted items, such as tobacco products and vapes to children. You must not sell vapes to anyone under the age of 18. This is a criminal offence which the council takes very seriously.

“It is clear you breached the law by failing a test purchase operation in which you sold an illegal vape to an under-age child. The sub-committee feels that you have no regard to the protection and safety of children.

“The sub-committee feels that there is insufficient management control at the premises. There is no credible system to prevent under-age sales of age-restricted products and no measures in place to avoid harm to children and to prevent crime and disorder

“Therefore, given the number of incidents, the circumstances surrounding the incidents and the fact that the matter involves safeguarding issues relating to young, vulnerable minors, we consider that the seriousness of the incidents and the crimes committed against young children undermines the licensing objectives to prevent crime and disorder, and protect children from harm.”

The shop has the right of appeal to a magistrates court within 21 days of the date of  the notice.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)