92-year-old woman refused service at Essex off-licence

A 92-year-old woman has slammed the "ludicrous" rules that prevented a Harlow off-licence from selling her alcohol because she couldn’t prove she was over the legal age of 18.



Diane Taylor, of Gladdens Court, was shocked when staff at the One Stop Shop convenience store in The Stow refused to sell her a bottle of whisky on the grounds she did not have the "correct" identification documents.

The great-grandmother produced everything from her bus pass and OAP card to her pacemaker in a bid to prove her age but said staff still would not serve her.

"I was in a hurry and it caught me off guard when she asked to see some ID," said Mrs Taylor. "When I asked her to repeat herself it seemed so stupid that I thought she was complimenting me!

"But then I realised she was being serious so I pulled out everything from my bag – my bus pass, my OAP card, my blood donors card – even my pacemaker – but she said none of them were enough.

"When I asked her exactly what she wanted she said proof of age. But I don’t have a passport or driving licence so what did they expect me to do?"

The shop’s licence to sell alcohol was revoked by Harlow Council in 2007 after staff failed a series of test purchases, but the decision was overturned when the owners pledged to enforce a strict ‘no ID, no sale’ policy for anyone buying alcohol, regardless of how old they looked.

A One Stop Shop spokesman told the Star this week that the store had to enforce the policy or risk losing its licence.

"Although we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused, staff at the store are required to ask all customers for ID as a condition of its licence to sell alcohol," he added.

This shop will not stay in business much longer if their staff operate like this

Excellent proof that "common sense" ain't quite so common.

The spokesman doesn't sound over bright either.

- Pay peanuts you get monkeys. Unfortunately little Hitleresque monkeys with Jobsworth hats on.