Five the 17 stores tested so far, failed the test and sold alcohol to an underage customer without asking for ID.

The five stores are:

Guildford: G&J News, Woking Road and Londis, Bedford Road.

Ash: One Stop, Ash Street; Co-op, Wharf Road; Agisha Food & Wine, Shawfield Road.

Guildford licensing officer, Colin Whitear, said: “We are deeply disappointed that five shops in our borough failed the test purchasing operation. There is a clear link between alcohol and anti-social behaviour, and by licensed premises failing to uphold the law by not selling alcohol to underage customers, they are exacerbating the problem.

“All businesses with a license to sell alcohol have a responsibility to ensure that they are meeting the conditions of their license and obeying the law.”

All the shops listed were contacted by The Guildford Dragon NEWS.  The manager at the Londis Store said that nobody had told him about this and he knew nothing about it.  One Stop in Ash Street said that the manager was not present.

A supervisor at the Co-Op in Wharf Road said the enquiry should go to their head office but the manager of Agisha Food & Wine said he was aware of the report and a man from the police had called and explained what extra precautions shop staff could take to correctly identify the age of those wishing to purchase alcohol. He was happy to co-operate. G&J News did not answer our call.

PC Madeline Neal from Guildford’s Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “We have been working hard to tackle anti-social behaviour in our communities by using every resource available to us.

“Part of this work included auditing local shops to ensure that they weren’t selling alcohol to customers without asking for ID, which we will continue to do across the borough.

“I’d like to encourage local residents to report any concerns they may have about shops in Guildford selling alcohol to underage customers so that we can fully investigate.”