CAMELOT has pulled the plug on its terminal at the Safeway Superstore in Liskeard for selling a ticket to an underage person.
The National Lottery operator confirmed to the Cornish Times yesterday (Thursday), that the superstore now has 14 days in which to respond to its decision.
The firm action was taken after the company received information from Trading Standards, that Safeway had sold a lottery ticket to an underage person, during an undercover operation they carried out in the store on August 1.
Emma Northey, Trading Standards Officer at Camborne, said she was the co-ordinator of a three day 'Age Restricted Project' in the county, looking at under age sales of goods including lottery tickets, solvents, cigarettes, videos and knives.
'We work with volunteer young people aged 13/14 and send them into stores to test purchase' she said. 'For the second year we have been involved in a partnership project with Camelot, the National Lotteries Act of 1993 having stated, that no Lottery tickets should be sold to persons under the age of 16'.
Ms Northey said she observed one of her volunteers being able to purchase a Lottery ticket for the Wednesday night draw. 'Our volunteers tend to look even younger than their age', she said, 'so they are quite obviously not 16'.
The officer explained that as soon as the offence had been committed the store manager was told and given a polaroid photograph of the sale being made. She said Camelot was then informed as is the normal practice. 'Because it is a criminal offence to sell a Lottery ticket to an under age person we are entitled to take the offender to court' she said, 'but we find it a better option to leave the matter in the hands of Camelot to carry out their own procedures.'
She added that one other case involving Lottery tickets was confirmed in Caradon during the three day exercise, though not in Liskeard, and there was another in Penwith District. Spokesperson for Camelot, Kim Walker, confirming the Safeway case, said the superstore had been sent a 14 day suspension notice. 'The ball is now very much in Safeway's court' she said. 'We are awaiting their response and investigating the claim made by Trading Standards'. She said the store had the right to appeal after which Camelot would make the decision whether or not their suspension from selling Lottery tickets would be made terminal.
A Safeway spokesperson said yesterday afternoon; 'Safeway has a staff training process in place for the selling of lottery tickets. We will be making sure that all our staff at the Liskeard store are involved.'