The boss of a Bradford shop has admitted selling a firework to a 16-year-old during last year’s Bonfire season.
There had been complaints over underage sales at Bang Fireworks – a pop-up shop based in a shipping container on Whetley Lane.
These complaints had led to a warning letter being sent to the store by West Yorkshire Trading Standards in October.
Trading Standards officers later carried out a test purchase at the store – during which a 16-year-old was sold a “Vortex battery of shots.”
On Wednesday the owner of the business, Yasir Mukhtar Choudry, pleaded guilty to selling a pyrotechnic article to someone under the age of 18.
Choudry, 36, of Duchy Crescent, had denied the offence when he appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court earlier this year, and the case was due to go to trial on Wednesday.
But he changed his plea to guilty on the day of the trial.
Choudry will be sentenced next month.
It is illegal to sell a firework to anyone under the age of 18.
Waseem Raja, prosecuting on behalf of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, told the court that the test purchase took place on 6 November.
A 16-year-old girl entered the store, with an adult Trading Standards officer also present to view any illegal sales.
Mr Raja said: “This test purchase was conducted by Trading Standards in relation to reports of fireworks being sold to under age people.
“On this occasion a 16-year-old test purchaser entered Bang Fireworks on Whetley Lane along with a Trading Standards officer.
“They approached the counter and asked to purchase a firework.
“That firework was then handed over to the test purchaser, who gave full payment and left the premises.
“No ID was requested and there was no age verification.”
Details of the person making the sale were then collected by the Trading Standards officer.
Earlier this year Trading Standards contacted Choudry for an interview to discuss the matter. He never responded to letters sent to him. When officers phoned him to arrange an interview, he initially agreed a date, but later failed to attend the interview. He gave no explanation as to why.
Mr Raja told the court the case had cost Trading Standards £2,295 to investigate and prosecute, as they had prepared the case to go to trial before the last minute guilty plea.
Mr Hussain, representing Choudry, said: “He accepts what he did on that day was wrong.
“He was going through a rough patch in terms of finance, and so he applied for a licence to trade during the Bonfire period. He set up a pop-up shop.”
He argued that Choudry only sold the firework to the child because he thought they were with the Trading Standards officer.
He said: “When addressing that young person he asked ‘is that elderly gentleman with you?’
“They said yes, and it was on that basis that they sold them the firework.
“He didn’t ask for ID so does accept that he’s liable.”
He told magistrates that his attempts to set up a business had fallen apart due to this test purchase. He said: “He was hoping things would get off the ground for him but that didn’t happen. It has all come crashing down following this – he has had to stop trading. He has since been looking for work but not had any luck.
“This was a misunderstanding on his part, and he is now having to pay a very high price.”
Mr Raja disputed that this was a one-off incident, saying: “This wasn’t a random spot check.
“He had been written to previously about the issue. On 27 October he’d received a warning letter telling him not to sell fireworks to underage people.
“He was told a test purchase could take place. The fact that they had to warn him is already worrying.”
Magistrates were told that there were no specific sentencing guidelines relating to the sales of fireworks to children.
The court’s legal advisor suggested that the most comparable guidelines related to the sales of knives to children.
After deliberating, Magistrates asked the probation service to write a report on Choudry to determine the most suitable punishment.
Sentencing was adjourned until 10 September.
