Licensee of Dudley pub accused of selling drink to children fails to show up to hearing

A 16-year-old boy was left needing hospital treatment after being served ‘four or five drinks’ at The Crown in Sedgley, while three other 17-year-olds were also found to have been sold liquor.

Members of Dudley Council’s licensing sub-committee met on Tuesday (July 14) to consider the case, but designated premises supervisor Gurdeep Singh failed to turn up.

West Midlands Police has called for Mr Singh to be stripped of his responsibility as a condition of the pub remaining in business.

The call has been backed by Dudley Council’s public health and child welfare departments.

Superintendent Lucas Cole of Dudley Police Station said a 16-year-old boy was taken to Russells Hall Hospital by ambulance during the early hours of March 14, after suffering breathing difficulties. The boy told his parents he had suffered a head injury after falling while in the pub, and had been served drinks at least four times without being asked for identification.

He was also said to have been suffering from alcohol poisoning.

It was also alleged that one of his friends did not return home until 6.05am, despite the pub’s licence requiring it to close by 2.30am, and forbid children from entering the premises after 9pm.

Mr Cole said the three other children had all been asked for ID, and produced an artificial intelligence-generated image on their phones.

Mr Singh was asked to produce CCTV footage relating to period in question, but was unable to do so apart from a short clip which appeared to confirm the pub was open after 4am.

Mr Cole said it was not the first time a child had been inside the pub drinking alcohol.

“We have a report in January 2026 which states that one of the parents had reported their child missing, and were found in the early hours of the morning, stating they had been at these premises,” he said.

“Therefore, on the balance of probabilities, it is fair to say that these children felt comfortable entering The Crown, knowing that they would be served alcohol.”

Mr Singh told police he was not at the pub on the night in question, and that his wife and a barmaid were on duty.

He told officers that he had been struggling to remove customers from the pub on time, adding that when they purchased food at 2am, they did not want to leave half an hour later.

Mr Singh admitted he had not read the terms of his licence, and was not aware that children were not allowed to enter the premises after 9pm. He was unable to give police an explanation as to why his CCTV was not working, despite it being a condition of his licence.

The sub-committee, which has the power to strip the pub of its licence, agreed to adjourn the hearing to give Mr Singh the opportunity to attend.