A shop assistant who sold alcohol to an underage lad has been fined £50 following a test purchasing exercise.

A 15-year-old boy, 5ft 9in tall, was used as a decoy during 15 attempts to buy alcohol in Rushmoor in exercises organised by the county council and police.

Among the first six premises targeted, one let him have booze unchallenged. This premise was The Co-operative in Fernhill Road.

In another exercise on July 5, all nine premises the decoy visited refused to sell him alcohol without proof of age.

The person who was responsible for selling the alcohol to the underage boy was served a fixed penalty notice of £50. The shop was also warned that they could have unannounced visits from the council or police at any time.

The other 13 premises, all of which refused to sell the alcohol to the teenager, include Threshers, Happy Shopper, Londis and Food & Wine.

Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Constabulary have organised 44 of these exercises in the county so far this year.

Coun Stephen Masterson, Cabinet Member for Safety and Regulation at Rushmoor Council, said: “Underage drinking can lead to many social problems, therefore we will not tolerate premises serving alcohol to under-18s.

“We will not hesitate to pursue further action against premises that break the law.

“It is very positive to see that on this occasion, very few were found to be breaking the law and that many requested proof of age from the boy.”