local news

Fine for counterfeit seller

Fake vodka

seized from a Burnley off-licence

led to an £800 fine for the owner. Trading Standards officers found 20 bottles of the counterfeit spirit

when they raided the A to Z

Off-licence, and

owner Asif Javed

admitted, at Reedley Magistrates Court,

possession of items with false trademarks and offering fake vodka for sale. His personal licence was suspended for two months and he was fined £800

with £414 costs. Ghazala Bibi, Javed's wife and supervisor,

admitted the same charges

and was fined £550 with £414 costs.

Manx rules relaxed

It's now easier to buy a drink on the Isle of Man. The previous requirement for fresh-faced drinkers

to produce a Manx or UK passport, or an Isle of Man driving licence or college cards,

led to problems for shopkeepers and newcomers to the

island who held passports issued outside the British Isles. But now the Tynwald, the island's parliament, has relaxed the restrictions to allow any passport or European driving licence as a proof of age.

Floating venture sinks

Britain's first floating off-licence looks like it

has been permanently scuppered,

with its operator losing a four-year court battle. Phil Berriman sold cut-price alcohol and cigarettes in international waters off Hartlepool, before

Customs seized his alcohol in 2004 claiming he was in breach of tax laws. A judge at Teesside Crown Court ruled the goods were lawfully seized and his business would have failed. Berriman said his customers did not need to pay duty on goods bought on the boat, because tax had already been paid in the country where they were bought. But Customs

said anyone who brought the

drink ashore would still have to pay duty, so buying

it offshore was not cheaper.

Threshers attack

A Threshers worker had a bottle of wine thrown at his head in an unprovoked attack in Market Deeping,

Cambs

. Police said a man and woman pulled up in a car outside the shop and appeared to be having an argument. T hey

entered the shop and the man threw a bottle at the member of staff who suffered cuts to his head.

Thieves raid before funeral

The owners of Taz's Off- licence in Belfield, Rochdale, were about to leave for Pakistan to attend the funeral of a 19-year-old member of staff, when they were told their off-licence had been

burgled.

Intruders

stole hundreds of pounds worth of cigarettes and spirits after the

owners put a notice outside the shop which said the business was closed until further notice.

ID help for retailers

Thames Valley Police has teamed up with the National Pubwatch Scheme and the Proof of Age Standards Scheme to help off-licence and bar

staff

spot fake ID s.

Training cards bearing the PASS hologram and a checklist of five things to look for on a genuine proof of age card

will be given to each licensed premises in the Slough

area.