A Liskeard publican has been ordered to pay more than £1,000 by the courts after he was caught selling alcohol to a child.
Lewis Jon Elliot, who runs the Railway Inn in Barn Street, was taken to court by Cornwall Council's trading standards team after they sent in a 16-year-old volunteer to try to buy alcohol on March 9.
The test purchase operation, which saw the teenager buy a bottle of "alcopop", was launched after the council department received information that suggested underage drinking was regularly taking place at the pub.
Cornwall Council said the same pub had failed a similar test purchase in 2010, after which advice was given to the licensee to prevent a recurrence.
Despite this, Elliot, 29, appeared at Bodmin Magistrates Court on November 28 charged with serving alcohol to a person under the age of 18. He pleaded guilty to offences under Section 146 of the Licensing Act 2003 and the magistrates fined him £265 for the offence. He was also ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge and Cornwall Council's court costs of £837.31.
Nigel Strick, Fair Trading Manager at Cornwall Council said: "The sale of alcohol to children will not be tolerated."