Scrooges! Fury as retailer BANS sale of boozy Christmas puddings outdoors licensing hours over alcohol fears
Supermarket bosses have been branded ‘Scrooges’ after banning customers from buying boozy Christmas puddings outside licensing hours.
One shopper’s tiramisu was rejected at a self-scanning till before 10am while another customer could not purchase a Christmas cake.
Scotland’s licensing laws prevent off-sales of alcohol from shops and supermarkets between 10pm and 10am.
But that is for alcoholic drinks.
Sweet treats containing booze – such as Christmas pudding and brandy butter – are not restricted, and shops do not need an alcohol licence to sell them.
Despite this, some festive goodies have been flagged to checkout assistants with tills automatically refusing to accept them, leaving customers ‘baffled’.
Stewart Meldrum, from Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, said that on a recent trip to his local Waitrose, his wife Carol was told by a supermarket assistant that buying a decadent Italian pudding before 10am was ‘unlawful’.
Some Christmas treats contain enough booze to fall foul of licensing laws (stock)
Stewart Meldrum, from Newton Mearns, said that on a recent trip to his local Waitrose, his wife was told by a supermarket assistant that buying a Italian pudding before 10am was ‘unlawful’
He said: ‘At the self-service check-out she was notified “assistance required”.
‘Baffled as to why, the assistant told her that the product she was trying to scan through contained alcohol and as it was before 10am the purchase was unlawful.
‘A fellow shopper next to her was having the same issue with a Christmas cake.
‘The assistant was full of apologies but my wife left without her tiramisu.’
Mr Meldrum, 75 added: ‘What next? Will they cordon off the tiramisu at night? Why do we in Scotland tolerate such ludicrous micro-governance? I’m seething.’
Annie Wells, Scottish Tory spokesman on alcohol, said: ‘Rather than infantilising adults and being Scrooge-ish, common sense should prevail’
Annie Wells, Scottish Tory spokesman on alcohol, said: ‘Rather than infantilising adults and being Scrooge-ish, common sense should prevail to ensure that these restrictions are kept within the spirit of the law instead of depriving grown adults from purchasing quintessential Christmas delicacies.’
Some boozy puddings do have an alcohol content displayed on their packaging, such as Waitrose tiramisu made with Marsala wine. It has 1.2 per cent alcohol by volume (ABV), a tenth of the typical alcohol content of white wine.
Waitrose has been contacted for comment.
