A Twickenham convenience store at the heart of illegal sales of drink to children has finally had its alcohol licence removed following complaints from worried parents and police action.

The Twickenham Local store on Heath Road was found to be selling drink to youngsters which, in turn, led to serious antisocial behaviour in and around Twickenham Green.

Twickenham Green - scene of antisocial behaviour. Credit: Nub News

Gangs of up to 60 boys and girls were drunkenly roaming the Green and surrounding streets, getting involved in fights and some were so drunk they had to be taken to hospital.

Richmond Council removed the shop's drinks licence in June last year on a recommendation from the police, however the ban was suspended pending the outcome of a legal bid by the owner to have it overturned.

The police have now revealed that the owner withdrew his legal action ahead of a court hearing in Wimbledon Magistrates on February 15 and the business is now banned from selling drink.

Shop licence holder Manmit Singh Golati speaking at Council meeting

The police moved to ban sales on alcohol to youngsters amid the background of a dangerous drinking culture among children in the Richmond borough.

It was claimed that at least two schoolgirls – one aged just 12 - needed hospital treatment after being sold drink by the staff at Twickenham Local.

Last year, a lawyer for the police, Jonathan Welch, told Councillors on the Licensing sub-committee that Richmond borough has a particular problem with underage drinking.

He said: "The younger population - under 18-years of age - are particularly vulnerable to harms of alcohol.

"Since 2015/16, Richmond borough has had the highest level of hospital admissions for alcohol-specific conditions out of all the London boroughs.

"The latest 2019/20 rate for Richmond is 33 per 100,000 young persons, which is highest harm level when compared to nearest neighbour group boroughs and higher than London (15.4 per 100,000) and England (30.7 per 100,000) averages."

The investigation into the store was led by PC Justin Campbell-Harris. In a statement, he said he had received repeated reports from concerned residents about the sale of drink and vapes to children.

Despite visiting the store, PC Campbell-Harris said problems continued with reports that 'streams of young children are coming out of the venue with cigarettes, alcohol and vapes'.

He added: "I have grave concerns that the sale of underage alcohol is still taking place at this venue and feel it is only a matter of time before a serious incident happens concerning the welfare of a child."

At the time, the owner of the shop, Manmit Singh Golati, a father of two, claimed complaints from local residents were the result of prejudice. This was rejected by the police, who pointed to 'overwhelming' evidence of illegality.

Richmond Police told Nub News that once the legal bid to overturn the ban on selling drink was dropped 'all the alcohol had to be removed from the venue with no further sales to take place'.

A spokesman added: "This venue was believed to have been some cause of the Antisocial Behaviour on Twickenham Green last year with large groups of juveniles gathering with alcohol causing concern to local residents.

"The SW Licensing team took immediate steps in the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm, leading to a great outcome for police and local residents."

Readers can watch the full sub-committee meeting via this link.

https://richmond.public-i.tv/core/portal/webcast_interactive/678006