A TOP councillor has blasted colleagues over “inadequate” penalties dished out to shops that sell alcohol to under 18s.

Charlie Briggs, Burnley Council’s so-called ‘yobs tsar’ and executive member for community safety, said the suspension of a shop’s licence for two weeks was not enough.

Super Save Mini Mart, Boundary Street, Burnley, was last week handed the penalty by councillors after police checks caught staff selling drink to juveniles.

It followed a hearing last month when members imposed a three-month ban on the Spar store, Accrington Road, after staff were caught selling lager and Lambrini to under 18s in undercover police stings.

The council’s licensing committee has powers to ban a store from selling alcohol.

But Coun Briggs said members were not taking severe enough action to combat underage drinking in the borough.

He said: “Drunken children on the street are a very serious problem and I’m determined to stamp it out.

“We have to take every chance we can to cut down the supply of alcohol.

“Inadequate penalties like this just don’t take account of the consequences for the kids themselves and for members of the public.

“Penalties should be proportionate to the offence, and right now they are not.”

Coun Bill Brindle, who sits on the licensing committee, added: “As a committee, we have to give out fair penalties that reflect the harm done. I don’t think we’ve been doing that recently and we will have to get tougher.”

He also called on police to change their policy of waiting for a shop to fail three under-age alcohol tests before taking action.

Next Tuesday councillors will consider whether to revoke the licenses of the Spar shop, Melville Street, Burnley, and the Focus store, Briercliffe Road.

Both off-licences sold booze to under 18s in test purchases, police say.