Pubs show support for Challenge 25

Pubs in Derby are backing the Challenge 25 initiative despite opposition to the measure by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA).

Dave Lalor, secretary of Derby Pubwatch and licensee of the city's Station Inn, has called on the BBPA to back the new age threshold in pubs nationwide.

"Publicans and the off-trade should have a unified approach," he said.

"It would be better if a customer could walk into an off-licence and see a poster with the same sign and colour as those in pubs. If all licensed premises in the country were using the same posters it would be less confusing for people".

The new standard requires retailers to ask people who look under 25 to show ID when buying alcohol and 200 pubs and clubs in the Derby are understood to be supporting the scheme.

The BBPA has argued that Challenge 21 is best suited to pubs and that raising the threshold to 25 could antagonise customers leading to a decline in age checking among barstaff.

But Dave said the BBPA needed to "move on" because Challenge 21 no longer provided a safeguard for licensees in preventing underage sales of alcohol.

"This is a safe limit for licensees. Sometimes it is virtually impossible to look at a 21 year old and know for certain they are over 18. If you raise the bar to 25 it is very hard for a 17 year old to look 25."

In a recent straw poll carried out by the Publican​, the majority of licensees rejected the adoption of the initiative in pubs.

Michelle Green, from the Robin Hood in Sutton, Surrey said: "I think if it was brought in, we would lose a lot of young customers."

However Dave added some customers were often pleased rather than annoyed with the new measure.

"In my experience, women over 25 actually like it when they get asked for ID," he said