Store demands ID from boy to buy wine gums

A teenager was told he was too young to buy a pack of wine gums — because they had wine in them. Jaz Bhogal, 15, tried to buy the fruity sweets from a town centre branch of 99p Stores — but was warned he needed to be 18 and asked for ID.

Gobsmacked Jaz, of Leverington, Cambs, said: "I couldn't believe it. The checkout worker asked how old I was, and when I said I was 15 he said he couldn't sell me the sweets.

"He said they had wine in them and pointed to the word wine on the packet. I was absolutely speechless."



The bungling shop assistant at the nearby Wisbech store forced Jaz to leave the shop empty-handed. His outraged mum, Sue, 36, said: "I thought Jaz was joking when he came home and told me what had happened. It is totally ridiculous and I would have been really cross if I had asked him to buy them for me."

Red-faced 99p Stores bosses have now promised Jaz a gift voucher to spend in the shop — as long as he buys a packet of wine gums. Graham Barnes, a spokesman for the chain, said the chewy sweets must have been classed as an age-restricted product by mistake on the tills."

Wine gums contain no wine but carry the names of alcoholic drinks on them.