Store in video sale 'sting' fined £500

Magistrates ordered that the company pay a £500 fine after the teenager purchased three 18-rated films in a "sting" operation by trading standards.

Last week, The X Catalogue Shop was also fined £500 when its store in Market Cross was caught during the same undercover inspection on January 25.

David Titchen, prosecuting, said copies of Cape Fear, The Substitute and Nightmare On Elm Street were purchased by the girl for £10 while she was supervised by enforcement officer Mark Lacy.

The transaction was carried out by a former manager of the store in Abbey Walk who was later confronted by Mr Lacy for breaching the Video Recordings Act 1984.

North Yorkshire Trading Standards then contacted Rhodri Lewis at Peacocks head office who told them it was company policy to comply with legislation governing video licensing.

But he admitted that staff received no training or handbook guidelines on the matter.

Jonathan Carroll, mitigating, said the company acknowledged failing to comply with the statutory requirements in this case, but "have taken some positive steps to remedy the defects highlighted."

He said Peacocks was currently finalising a document for each of its 270 stores on selling controlled goods. This was the first time the firm had faced such a prosecution.

"They have identified that there were failings and gaps in the appropriate and reasonable steps they could and should take."

He said the store's previous manager left her job because she had been embarrassed and upset by the incident, although the company had wanted her to stay.

He told the court: "She was feeling under stress at work and although she thought the girl was about 15, she did not think about asking for ID."

Geoff Morley, presiding, said the Bench took into account the company's early guilty plea and ordered that it pay a £500 fine and £280.90 costs.

Updated: 12:17 Friday, July 04, 2003