A Blackwood shop owner has been taken to court and fined for allowing the sale of a sunbed session to a child during a council test purchase operation.

Prosecution
[relatedPosts title=”Related Posts”]

David Bryn Williams, trading as Tantastic, High Street, Blackwood was taken to court after he allowed the purchase of a sunbed session to a 15 year old test purchase volunteer, during a test purchase operation by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Environmental Health team in November 2012.

The case was heard at Caerphilly Magistrates Court on Thursday 11th July 2013. Williams did not attend court; therefore the case was proven in his absence.

He was found guilty of two offences under the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 and eight offences under the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 (Wales) Regulations 2011. He was ordered to pay a fine totalling £2,000, together with prosecution costs of £924.37 and a £60 victim surcharge.

Cllr David Poole, Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services said, “Selling age restricted items or services such as sunbed sessions to children is completely irresponsible, and is an issue which our enforcement teams are committed to tackling. Conducting test purchases continues to prove effective in bringing to book the small minority of traders who fail to take their responsibilities seriously by selling age restricted items and services to young people”.

He continued, “It is pleasing that the court has emphasised the seriousness of the offences in this particular case by the size of the fine it has imposed”.

In April 2011, a law was introduced which banned under-18s from using sunbeds in England and Wales.