SOUTH Yorkshire Police and Barnsley Council are ramping up the pressure on pubs after an operation last weekend found more than half of licensed venues sold alcohol to underage kids without checking their ID.

On Saturday, officers from Barnsley South’s Neighbourhood Policing Team - supported by a group of dedicated cadets - carried out a ‘test purchase’ operation across Hoyland and Wombwell.

The initiative was designed to ensure that local pubs and bars are strictly adhering to laws regarding the sale of alcohol to minors.

However, of the eight premises that were visited during the operation, five failed to asked for identifications and subsequently sold alcohol to the underage volunteers.

This failure rate - over 60 per cent of the tested venues - has prompted a swift response from both the police force and Barnsley Council.

Inspector Rebecca Richardson has urged locals to remain vigilant while in pubs - and to let the police know if they see anything they deem ‘suspicious’.

She told the Chronicle: “These types of operations allow us, as well as Trading Standards and the local council, to ensure that regulations are followed correctly.

“My officers are working with the venues which failed the operation, and will ensure they have support moving forward to conduct proper age identification checks.

“We conduct these operations in support with our Safer Neighbourhoods Service, randomly throughout the year at various different premises and continue to work with these premises to ensure regulations are correctly followed.”

The goal of the scheme is not just to penalise those who are selling alcohol to youngsters illegally, but to ensure that the ‘Challenge 25’ culture is deeply embedded in the local night-time economy.

Hoyland Milton councillors Robin Franklin, Tim Shepherd and Mick Stowe - who represent the area in which the operation took place - have reinforced the necessity of these checks for the protection of the borough’s youngsters.

They added: “Protecting our young people must be non-negotiable.

“We fully support enforcement against underage alcohol sales and urge all local venues to uphold their duty of care.

“We stand with South Yorkshire Police in putting community safety first.”

Barnsley Council have confirmed to the Chronicle that their teams have already been out to a number of the pubs who failed the operation.

Coun Wendy Cain, cabinet spokesperson for public health and communities, said: “Our licensing team work very closely with the police following a test-purchase operation where a premises fails the exercise by selling age-restricted products to a person under 18.( “Following failure of the sales check, we work with the licensees to find out the circumstances in which the sale took place, look at the systems they have in place and investigate why the failure occurred.

“We will then work with them to develop an action plan that sets out all the things they need to do to prevent this happening again.

“It usually focuses on making sure staff conduct proper ID checks and enforce the Challenge 25 policy.

“We also provide advice about keeping appropriate records and conducting regular staff training.

“Our teams have already been out to some of the premises who failed the purchase test to provide follow up support and we will continue to work alongside businesses and the police to prevent underage sales and protect local businesses’ reputations.”