Tesco bans parents from buying alcohol if they are with their OWN children

Workers have been told not to serve adults accompanied by children in the latest crack-down on underage drinking.

However diligent shop staff are applying the letter of the law and refusing to serve parents who are on weekly shopping trips with their children.

Television medium Dominic Zenden could never have predicted that he would have been barred from buying a six-pack of beer at the respectable age of 45 - 27 years over the legal age.

And Debbie Bell, 39, was shocked when staff refused to sell her alcohol while she was shopping with her 18-year-old stepson.

Both had been in different Tesco stores, but were given the same explanation by staff who refused to serve them.

Mr Zenden, who presents his own show on Sky TV, was stunned when he was snubbed at the shop in Sprowston, Norwich.

The television star was with his daughter Devon, 15, when he tried to buy six bottles of Budweiser beer.

But staff refused to believe his insistence the alcohol was not for the schoolgirl - and would not sell him it.

"I was dumbfounded," said Mr Zenden.

"There was absolutely no indication that my daughter would be drinking the alcohol - it was for me.

"I fancied a nice cool beer on a warm evening.

"But the woman told me that they don't sell alcohol to people who have children with them."

Tesco today said they trained their store workers to ask for proof of age for anyone present at the purchase who they suspect may consume the alcohol.

But they admitted: "Quite often they may be mistaken and the adult may be buying it for themselves.

"But we would rather the staff err on the side of caution than risk selling to someone who is buying alcohol for people who are under age."

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Dominic Zenden was shocked when his local Tesco store refused to sell him alcohol while he was with his daughter

Shops selling to minors three times in as many months face a £10,000 fine and a three-month suspension of their licence and as a result shops have become very careful to avoid selling to under-18s.

A Tesco spokesman added: "We are doing lots of work to try to stop under-age people from being able to get hold of alcohol and one of the biggest problems has become adults buying for people who are underage.

"If our staff suspect that people are buying for people who are under the age of 18 then we do not serve them."

But Mr Zenden said: "I can understand people not wanting to sell alcohol to children.

"But they haven't got signs up to say that they won~t sell to people who have their children with them.

"If they did it would save a lot of embarrassment at the till."

Clare Birtles, of consumer website www.consumerrightsexpert.co.uk, said today: "If he was of legal age and could prove it, if asked, and didn't seem intoxicated or impaired by alcohol, there's no apparent reason for them not to sell to him.

"Having a child of any age with him shouldn't have been the issue - often people buy beer and wine in supermarkets when they have children with them and have no problem with staff.

"The only reason might be some particular indication that he was buying the alcohol for a minor, but on the face of it the man has a legitimate complaint."

Ms Bell fell foul of the same rules when she popped into a Tesco Extra Store to pick up a crate of lager while her husband Mick, 46, was buying petrol.

With stepson Michael Bruce, 18, by her side, she was preparing to pay when the checkout assistant called over a supervisor to ask whether they could serve her.

Incredibly, the supervisor decided that Ms Bell was not permitted to buy the beer.

The reason given was that they said she was buying it for Michael - who is 18 and able to buy alcohol regardless.

Ms Bell said: "When I put the lager down to pay they just said 'no' and asked my stepson if he had any ID.

"I asked Michael to get his dad but they said that even if I got my husband they still would not serve us as we had an underage lad with us.

"Then he asked me to put the case of lager back and I told him to get stuffed.

"You can't do that just because somebody has kids with them. I was in there the day before with a 17-year-old lass and there were no problems.

"Michael wasn't even carrying the beer, he was just standing next to me. If it is Tesco policy not to serve people who have teenagers with them it is a stupid policy."

In response to this incident a Tesco spokesman said the company had introduced the policy earlier this year in a bid to curb underage drinking.

He said: "There was a huge problem with kids attempting to buy alcohol so very strict policies were put in place to stop this, but the other problem is underage people getting adults to buy alcohol for them.

"It is very, very hard to gauge, but what we say to our cashiers is to err on the side of caution."