Supermarket fined £1k for firework sale

SUPERMARKET Morrisons has been fined £1000 for selling fireworks to a 16-year-old.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday heard two assistants sold a packet of rockets called TNT Space Explorer to the boy without asking for identification. The incident was spotted by Trading Standards officers.

Sheriff Nigel Morrison said the supermarket failed to exercise due diligence and found the chain guilty of the offence.

The court heard the assistants expected to serve on the fireworks counter were the assistants on the dry cleaning counter. Their normal duties did not usually include the sale of age-restricted products such as fireworks, except in the weeks around November 5.

Giving evidence, the assistants said they had been provided with training but the fact that the store was so busy may have affected their judgement.

Sheriff Morrison said: "In the circumstances, I do not consider that all reasonable steps were taken or that Morrisons exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence."

The incident happened on October 25, 2009, at the Gyle store in Edinburgh. Wm Morrison plc had denied the charge.