A village shopkeeper says his livelihood is in jeopardy after councillors revoked his alcohol licence – months after his store sold vodka to a 15-year-old girl later found unconscious.
Littlestone Store, near New Romney, was hauled before Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) after the teenager was discovered “foaming at the mouth” – hours after buying vodka at the shop without any age checks.
Police called for action against the Littlestone Road site following the incident in May and a string of other serious breaches.
Owner Velupillai Kirupakaran said he “deeply regrets what happened” but had travelled to Sri Lanka in May to care for his sick father, leaving a friend to cover the business.
But FHDC’s licensing committee revoked the licence on Tuesday after PC Alistair Pringle told councillors the shop had become “known locally amongst young people as the place to go for alcohol and vapes”.
The most serious incident happened on May 31 when two 15-year-old girls walked into the shop and bought two bottles of vodka.
Later that evening, one of the girls was found unconscious by her mother.
In a statement given to police, she described racing to a friend’s house after being told her daughter was “limp and a dead weight”, vomiting and “foaming at the mouth”.
The teenager was taken to hospital, where medics treated her for alcohol intoxication.
PC Pringle added training records could not be provided, and that officers had uncovered multiple examples of age-restricted products being sold without checks.
A man found working behind the counter had no legal right to be employed in the UK, could not operate the CCTV system and was left unsupervised.
Police also criticised the delayed provision of footage, which was handed over more than a month after being requested.
Officers said the failings were “so significant” they had already directed the store to cease licensed activity until a decision was made.
A representative speaking on behalf of Mr Kirupakaran accepted “serious mistakes” had been made but urged the committee not to revoke the licence.
He said the friend Mr Kirupakaran had recruited to look after the shop had taken on a worker who was neither trained nor entitled to work in the UK.
“My client deeply regrets what happened,” the representative told councillors.
“These are serious mistakes without a doubt. He accepts full responsibility.
“But this happened while he was abroad dealing with a family emergency.
“Since returning, he has dismissed the staff member, trained his new employees, updated all signage, and made sure the shop is fully compliant.
“Revoking this licence will completely destroy his livelihood. He is a family man and this business supports his children.”
The committee heard Mr Kirupakaran had offered to accept a time-limited licence – effectively a probation period – to prove the store could operate responsibly.
But Kent County Council trading standards officer Andy Blair told councillors the shop had already been the subject of several investigations after complaints of underage sales.
He said his first inspection of Littlestone Store in December 2023 came after reports of underage sales, and there were no training records for staff.
“Without a premises license I can’t run the business…”
“I made it clear that test purchases would follow and reminded the owner that proper systems had to be in place,” he told the meeting.
Subsequent visits, however, revealed problems.
Mr Blair said complaints of children buying vapes and alcohol from the shop were backed up by CCTV evidence showing staff failing to make ID checks.
He added: “What we saw was a complete disregard for the licensing objectives designed to protect children from harm.
“Conditions around Challenge 25, staff training and CCTV were not being complied with.
“Given the seriousness of the incidents and the repeated failures, trading standards fully supported revocation of the licence.”
Challenge 25 is a strategy that encourages retailers to ask anyone who looks under 25 to carry acceptable ID to purchase age-restricted items.
Following the meeting, Mr Kirupakaran issued an apology to residents.
“I say sorry again to my local community. I accepted it was our fault,” he said.
“I have run this shop for the last six years even in a difficult Covid situation.
“I don’t know what I am going to do for my day-to-day life. Without a premises license I can’t run the business.”
Committee chairman Cllr Tony Cooper (Lab) said councillors had considered a time-limited licence for the store.
“However, based upon previous failures in the operation of the licence, we were not adequately convinced or satisfied that the recently implemented changes would protect children from harm, and we decided to revoke the licence,” he said.
“In coming to this decision, we have considered representations made by Kent Police, trading standards, licensing officers, the licensee and their representative.”
