Scunthorpe shop wins alcohol licence despite past illegal tobacco conviction

A corner shop on Scunthorpe’s Frodingham Road has been permitted to sell  alcohol despite objections from police and residents.

Complaints were raised that the Scunthorpe Mini Market could make the road’s anti-social behaviour issues worse  by being allowed to sell alcohol.

Trading Standards also fought the application on the grounds that the owner had previously been prosecuted for selling illegal cigarettes at a different shop.

However, the council’s licensing committee have granted Barham Mahmoud permission after he promised that the shop will follow the law.

Local resident Abid Khan, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, pleaded with the committee to turn the application down.

He said: “There are already so many places to buy alcohol on Frodingham Road, and this is making it more and more unsafe. Please have mercy.

“Muslim ladies feel intimidated when they walk down the street, and you can’t let children out because of the amount of bottles and broken glass.”

Town Ward Councillor Mashook Ali said: “Another shop selling alcohol will create more anti-social behaviour on Frodingham Road, more gathering on street corners, and another safety hazard for children going to the nearby Mosque. I don’t want vulnerable people to feel unsafe here.”

He added that the council’s environmental teams were already kept busy cleaning waste.

A representative for Mahmoud said: “One further premises won’t add to the street’s problems. My client shouldn’t be made a scapegoat for all the issues there.

“He is responsible for what happens on his premises, not what people do when they have left it.

“If there are problems on Frodingham Road, that is something that North Lincolnshire Council need to be taking a look at.”

He also denied that alcohol would be cheaper than supermarkets or other off-licences, saying: “It is impossible for corner shops to beat the likes of Lidl or Morrisons on pricing.”

Mahmoud opened the nearby Delicja corner shop in 2019.

Undercover Trading Standards officers had been able to buy illicit cigarettes within days of the business opening.

Mahmoud claimed he bought the packets for himself and his wife, and they were mistakenly sold in the shop.

He was prosecuted and paid more than £1,000 in fines and costs, but says it was the “first and last time” that he sold illegal tobacco.

As the conviction is now spent, the committee were unable to take it into their decision.

However, Trading Standards said they feared that the practice was so profitable that the owner may be tempted to return to it.

“In a matter of two or three days, around 60 packets had been sold in Delicja, generating a total of £60 profit. That is quite a lucrative sideline,” a representative told the licensing committee.

“There is attractiveness to making that kind of money quickly.

“At the time of the test purchase, the shop had only been open for two days. It was already selling illegal products.

“We know that this is an issue on Frodingham Road and a lot of shops do it despite our best efforts. The disruption that Trading Standards and Humberside Police create may only last a morning or an afternoon.”

At the police’s suggestion, the hours in which the shop can serve alcohol have been reduced to 8am to 11pm.

North Lincolnshire licensing committee granted the application, providing staff were trained on sales of alcohol and a refusal book was kept.

Mahmoud agreed that CCTV would be fitted at the front and rear of the shop to prevent crime, and he would clean litter left around the premises each morning.

The committee said members deliberated for a long time, but were satisfied that the conditions would help to prevent crime and disorder.

The licence could be reviewed if this doesn’t prove the case.