Licensee baffled by council's pub claim

A licensee has been accused of serving an underage customer in a pub he does not run and has never even set foot in.

Host Henry Apted of the Pendlebury, near Salford in Greater Manchester, was stunned when council officials told him he was registered as the designated premises supervisor (DPS) at a pub across the road from his own premises.

Council licensing officers insist he is responsible for serving alcohol to a minor at the nearby Albert pub and says he faces prosecution as a result.

Apted believes the problem stems from a temporary agreement to look after the pub for one weekend last November, and this somehow led to his name being registered as the permanent licensee.

"I signed a paper agreeing to look after the pub for one weekend to allow the outgoing tenant to take over new premises.

"In the end the licensee decided to close the pub so I was not needed and never thought anything more about it.

"I have never set foot in the Albert, let alone served a drink in there, so I was dumbstruck when the council informed me I was being prosecuted."

The pub was taken over by relief managers three weeks later and was being run by the couple during the sting on 3 March.

Apted has been asked to attend the local Trading Stan-dards office on 13 April for an interview.

Salford City Council told Apted his name had now been removed as DPS at the Albert.