A NEWSAGENTS caught selling double the amount of permitted alcohol during Euro 2024 has been given the go-ahead to keep the extra sales space.

The Premier Store on Haddington High Street had been given five weeks to improve its training and practice after it was caught selling more alcohol than allowed on the shop floor.

A report to East Lothian Council's licensing board last month revealed that its licensing standards officer had visited the shop – which was only granted a licence to sell alcohol last October – in June and found double the shelf space allowed given over to drink; and when she asked about it, she was told it was to "cash in" on the Euros.

The officer also reported staff in the store giving false names on two occasions during checks, as well as having to step in herself and stop alcohol being sold to customers who she feared could be buying it for underage drinkers.

And she said that staff were unable to produce paperwork proving they held a licence to sell alcohol or had been through required training.

READ MORE: Haddington shop gets reprieve after breaking alcohol rules

The board gave the shop five weeks to improve after their representative Alistair Macdonald said that he would ensure training for all staff and ensure everyone working at the store understood the rules.

At a meeting of the board on Thursday, Mr MacDonald told members that staff at the store understood “having a licence to sell alcohol is a privilege and they have to live up to that privilege”.

He said that training had been undertaken by staff and the board’s licensing standards officer confirmed that a recent visit to the shop had found it "tidier" and paperwork available for all employees.

The board agreed to approve the extended sales area for alcohol in the future, saying that it would continue to be monitored to ensure the higher standards introduced were maintained.