A shop owner from Kingsbury has been fined in court after his store in Willesden sold alcohol to an underage schoolboy.

Sellathurai Prabaharan, of Orchard Grover, admitted selling the four cans of Strongbow cider to the 15-year-old at Variety Food and Wine in High Road.

The 40-year-old also pleaded guilty to having in his possession 20 packets of cigarettes and 15 packets of hand rolling tobacco, none of which had the statutory health warnings on their packaging.

On Tuesday, Willesden Magistrates Court heard he was snared after officers from Brent and Harrow Trading Standards Service (BHTSS) carried out an undercover operation with a child volunteer last August.

The cashier failed to challenge the youth on his age or ask for ID.

Following the illegal sale, BHTSS searched the shop where they discovered the unlawful tobacco products hidden under a counter at the till.

Prabaharan acknowledged the sale and admitted the cashier had been left alone unsupervised in the shop, despite the fact that it was only her third day working there.

He was fined £300 for each offence and was ordered to pay a further £840 in prosecution costs to BHTSS and a £30 victim surcharge.

Bill Bilon, head of BHTSS, said: “The law rightfully places a heavy burden on retailers to ensure that they and their staff act responsibly in order to comply with legislation and prevent sales to children. Where it is evident that retailers have blatantly ignored their responsibilities, we will have no hesitation in prosecuting them.”