EIGHT off-sales businesses in the Borders have fallen foul of a clandestine sting operation to expose traders who sell alcohol to customers aged under 18.
The test purchasing scheme – supported by the police and Scottish Borders Licensing Board – saw 30 premises in Hawick, Galashiels, Selkirk and Peebles visited in the first six months of this year.
"There were eight premises which failed on these f
irst visits and reports have been sent to the procurator fiscal," said Inspector James Royan at a board meeting in Galashiels.
"The encouraging news is that there were no failures when the same outlets were visited for a second time."
Board chairman Willie Archibald said: "This shows that the scheme is working and, hopefully, will continue to work."
In his first report since the board's quarterly meetings were replaced by ad hoc hearings under Scotland's major licensing revamp, Inspector Royan said police had dealt with 541 incidents relating to licensed premises in the Borders between January 1 and June 30.
"There was a steady increase (in incidents] towards the summer months, possibly reflecting the local festivities which take place in the Borders."
The inspector added: "Unsurprisingly, most incidents took place between Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday."
He said that in Hawick and Galashiels, police were busiest on Friday and Saturday nights.
In the east division, which includes Hawick, most incidents occurred between midnight and 2.59am, while in the west, the key times were from midnight till 1.59am and, again, from 3am to 3.59 am, "reflecting the 3am (nightclub] licences in Galashiels".
The full article contains 265 words and appears in Southern Reporter newspaper.
