AN off licence believed to open for more hours than any other shop in Taunton was closed this week after being banned from selling alcohol.

An appeal by Merlin Yuseinova, owner of Food and Wine, in Bridge Street, to overturn a decision to revoke her licence was thrown out by Taunton magistrates on Thursday.

Her licence was taken away earlier in the year at a hearing at Taunton Deane Borough Council following a recommendation by police.

That meeting heard that Mrs Yuseinova and her husband, who are Bulgarian and claimed losing their licence would put them out of business.

*sold alcohol to children.

*bought stolen alcohol, probably with the intention of selling it on - in court they both admitted handling stolen goods and were each fined £250 with £250 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

*could not understand English, causing problems with identifying the age of customers.

*failed to keep staff training records.

Police had also expressed concerns that the premises "remained open later than others in the town", operating from 8am to 1am Sunday to Thursday and 8am to 4am Friday and Saturday - a total of 125 hours a week, meaning it was only closed for 43 hours weekly.

The council's licensing committee originally revoked the licence earlier this year after hearing of the couple's "attitude of complacency" and "blatant disregard for the law".

Despite the name of the shop, Food and Drink only sold alcohol, cigarettes and energy drinks.

During her appeal at Taunton Magistrates' Court, Mrs Yuseinova claimed the decision to revoke the licence ran contrary to "the weight of evidence", "was unduly harsh when other remedies were available" and ignored measures she had taken to remedy the situation.

Dismissing the appeal, magistrates ordered her to pay the Deane's costs of £2,601.58.

When the County Gazette called at Food and Wine this week, the shutters were down and no-one from the business could be contacted.

Inspector Shane Carey, neighbourhood manager for Taunton, said: “It is essential that licensees and retailers adhere to the terms and conditions of their licence.

"They are in place for a reason. Licensees have to understand their responsibilities.

"Premises that are not promoting the licensing objectives or are in breach of their conditions may face review. 

“We made the application in this case as we felt that there was risk to the public, particularly children, and in order to prevent further crime and potential nuisance.

"We won’t tolerate sales of alcohol to young people under the required age or of stolen goods.”