Brentford Corner Shop Faces Licence Revocation

Trishul Groceries caught selling alcohol to children

Volunteer teenagers helped prove the shop was a repeat offender. Picture: AI Generated

March 6, 2026

A convenience store in Brentford is facing the possible loss of its alcohol licence after being caught selling alcohol to minors on two separate occasions over the past two years. Trishul Groceries, located at 2–6 Clayponds Lane, will face a Licensing Panel hearing on 18 March following an application for review submitted by Hounslow Council Trading Standards which is recommending that the licence be revoked entirely.

The first incident took place on 25 May 2023, during a routine underage sales exercise conducted by Trading Standards officers. On that occasion, a 14-year-old volunteer was served alcohol by the shop’s owner and Designated Premises Supervisor, Mr Thamotharampillai Gnanaharan. When confronted by Trading Standards staff immediately after the sale, Mr Gnanaharan claimed he believed the child looked 22 or 23 years old.

Mr Gnanaharan was subsequently prosecuted and convicted at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court on 14 May 2024 of supplying alcohol to a person under the age of 18, contrary to Section 146 of the Licensing Act 2003. Despite this conviction, Trading Standards chose not to pursue a licence review at the time, accepting assurances from Mr Gnanaharan that there would be no repeat.

On 30 October 2025, Trading Standards officers repeated the exercise, this time using a 15-year-old volunteer. Once again, Trishul Groceries sold alcohol to the underage volunteer. According to the review application, no attempt whatsoever was made by the person serving to check the volunteer’s age.

The second sale was made not by Mr Gnanaharan himself but by an individual who, when interviewed under caution, claimed she did not work for the shop. She stated she was employed elsewhere nearby and had simply walked behind the counter to serve customers while the one member of staff present was otherwise occupied. She admitted scanning the alcohol, taking payment and providing change, but maintained she was not an employee and had received no training in age verification. Notably, she gave the same home address as Mr Gnanaharan.

Mr Gnanaharan attended his own recorded interview under caution on 27 November 2025. He acknowledged that selling alcohol to a minor is a criminal offence and that, as Premises Licence Holder and Designated Premises Supervisor, compliance with the Licensing Act 2003 is his personal responsibility. However, he was unable to name any of the four licensing objectives he is legally required to uphold.

He admitted that a lack of supervision on his part had allowed the second sale to take place, and conceded that a staff training regime he subsequently introduced — which requires employees to sign acknowledgement of age verification training — was only implemented on 17 November 2025, more than two weeks after the second sale. He agreed this was too late.

Furthermore, when asked about a new Refusals Register introduced as part of that training regime, Mr Gnanaharan said he had made two refusals in the preceding week but had forgotten to record either of them. Trading Standards noted in their application that the new compliance system appeared to already be failing.

The 18 March Licensing Panel hearing will consider a range of possible actions. These include modifying the licence conditions, removing Mr Gnanaharan as Designated Premises Supervisor, suspending the licence for up to three months, revoking the licence entirely, or taking no further action.

The application was submitted by Trading Standards Officer Brian Gohery, who has over 31 years of criminal law enforcement experience. No representations were received from interested parties by the 3 March deadline.

In submitting the application, Mr Gohery wrote that Hounslow Council Trading Standards has no faith in Mr Gnanaharan’s ability to uphold his legal obligations or the licensing objectives, and that the business has demonstrated a systematic failure to comply with the law after two sales of alcohol to minors and one criminal prosecution in a relatively short period of time.

The hearing will be held by Hounslow Council’s Licensing Panel and will be open to representations. Mr Gnanaharan is entitled to attend and make his case. Any party aggrieved by the outcome has the right to appeal to the Magistrates’ Court.