Police have asked for the premises licence of a Blackpool takeaway to be revoked after a teenage girl was allegedly propositioned by a man working there illegally.
A written application has been submitted to Blackpool Council’s licensing panel about the premises licence at Tasty, a takeaway on The Strand, off the town centre.
Blackpool Council’s licensing panel will review the application at a meeting on Wednesday, with various options to them.
The application, by Sgt Nat Cox on behalf of Lancashire Constabulary, stated: “At around 0305 hours on Thursday May 29 police were called by the mother of an 18 year old female.
“The initial report to the police was that the 18 year old had been assaulted by a male working in a takeaway.
“On investigation, it transpired that no assault had occurred. However the 18 year old reported to police that, following a dispute over payment, the male working in the takeaway had offered to give her food for half price if she gave him a kiss or for free if she performed oral sex on him.
“Investigations revealed the suspect to be a male who had been working in Tasty. When police spoke to the man, it transpired he had an asylum seeker ID card on him which confirmed he was not allowed to work in the UK, following two failed asylum applications.”
On June 5 Sgt Cox spoke with the licence holder for Tasty, Soliman Salama, and a man described as his business partner.
Sgt Cox stated in the application: “Police have significant concerns about this takeaway. They have previously been issued a warning letter about not having door staff when required to by their licence.
“They are allowed to share a member of door staff with (the business next door) but it appears they rely on this and don’t employ any themselves.
“In addition, this incident is particularly concerning. A drunk 18 year old female on her own late at night is extremely vulnerable. She should be able to order food from a takeaway without being subject to sexual advances by the responsible people working there.
“The fact that the licence holder directed police to another person in order to work the CCTV is of concern.
“More concerning is that this person denied that (the suspect) works there, despite evidence to the contrary.”
The police officer said that Mr Salalm and his business partner were “either oblivious to the fact that (the suspect) worked at Tasty or deliberately concealing it. Either is worrying and not in line with what is expected of the licence holder.
“On behalf of the police, I would ask the committee to consider revoking the licence because of the serious nature of this incident and the fact they were employing someone illegally.”
The police ask that if the license is not revoked, more stringent conditions should be added to the licence.
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