The landlord of an East Lancashire pub has been fined and had his personal licence stripped after serving alcohol to a teenager who later died in a crash.
Hector Eccles, 16, had been drinking in the Roggerham Gate, in Worsthorne, before leaving on his Polaris farm bike in March 2024.
However, moments later, he lost control and crashed the vehicle, causing fatal injuries.
Last month, the man who served Hector, Anthony Wiazcek, 65, from Todmorden Road, Burnley, was convicted of selling alcohol to a person under 18.
At the time, he was the premises licence holder and the designated supervisor, and the only person behind the bar on the night Hector died.
Wiazcek had known Hector since he was a baby and had taken him to football matches when he was younger, and knew he was under 18.
Following a two-day trial at Burnley Magistrates’ Court, he was handed a fine of £660, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £264 and £650 towards prosecution costs. His personal alcohol licence was also suspended for three months.
In a victim personal statement, Hector’s mum, Wendy Eccles, said: “My life has been destroyed beyond repair.
“The day Hector died I died with him. We don’t live our lives now, we just exist. People say how do you carry on and the answer is you don’t. I am just a hollow shell wanting my old life back every minute of every day. I have gone from loving my life to just watching the clock waiting for the day to be over. When I go into Hector’s bedroom, I feel every bit of grief flowing through my body. I feel panic like you can’t imagine knowing that he’s not coming home.
“I know the smell of Hector in his room is fading every week and I know one day that smell will no longer be there. I have panic attacks worrying if he’s scared. Does he
know that he’s died? Is it dark, as he is scared of the dark like most children are.
“Every morning I wake up and feel like I have been hit by a train. I cry numerous times a day every day since that terrible morning when our lives were destroyed for ever.
“I don’t like going out of the house seeing people I just walk looking at the floor hoping people won’t stop me. Look at me with pity. Wanting to hug me. It doesn’t matter what you are doing or where you are it’s a constant panic and wave of grief that comes over you that is uncontrollable.
“We don’t sleep at night, maybe an hour then you wake up in panic. Hector’s dad has
never slept more than an hour since that terrible morning. He didn’t come to bed for 12 months just stayed in the chair which resulted him to have slipped discs in his
back and lost two stone in weight.
“How do you carry on when your whole world has been taken from you in one night
due to lack of duty of care? And you know that this could have been avoided if duty of care was practised that night.
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“Hector never got the chance to take his GCSEs, never attending his school
prom. We are having to live through the milestones, watching his friends grow and
achieve things. Forever thinking what would Hector be doing now.
“How do I get through Christmas and birthdays? Well, I can tell you I don’t. Certain
things you can never imagine doing again like playing music in the house which
Hector and I did every single morning before I took him for the school bus.
“Waiting for him to come home from school as his first words were “mum you will never guess what?"
“Hector always had a great story from school or on the bus. I can never go out
of the house when children are going to school and coming home from school as I
just break down thinking that should be my boy. Hector was a happy schoolboy,
loving life.
“How can we carry on building up a business like we have for years for Hector? As farming was all Hector wanted to do and was extremely passionate about it. How do we carry on seeing other boys doing Hector’s job. My heart had been smashed and will never be repaired.”
Licensing Sergeant for Burnley, Rossendale, Pendle and Ribble Valley Steve Dundon said: “I welcome the outcome of this trial. Whilst nothing will bring back Hector, this incident serves to highlight the reasons the sale of alcohol is strictly controlled and the consequences that can follow irresponsible sale.
“We will continue to work proactively with licensed premises to ensure compliance, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action where those responsibilities are ignored."
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