An East Lancashire village pub has kept its licence after a review sparked by the death of a teenager to whom it sold alcohol before he died in a quad bike crash.

On March 30, 16-year-old Hector Eccles died after crashing his farm vehicle in Worsthorne, while a 17-year-old passenger was injured.

Both had previously been drinking while underage in the Ram Inn in Burnley Road, Cliviger, and the Roggerham Gate in Todmorden Road, near Briercliffe.

A letter to the committee from his family stated Hector had been sold four alcoholic drinks at the Ram Inn, five pints of beer at the Roggerham Gate, and one pint of cider at a third, redacted venue.

Following investigations into the fatal crash, Lancashire Police instigated a review into the alcohol licences of both pubs.

Hector Eccles died after crashing his quad bike after a night out drinkingHector Eccles died after crashing his quad bike after a night out drinking

A meeting of Burnley Council's licensing sub-committee on Tuesday agreed to renew the premises licence of The Ram Inn after hearing it had replaced the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) responsible for the management of the pub when the alcohol has been sold to Hector.

A similar review of the licence for the Roggerham Gate will be held by the committee on Thursday.

Tuesday's hearing also imposed a series of conditions will be placed on the Ram Inn to prevent any future under-age sales.

Sub-committee chair Councillor Anne Kelly said: "I have chaired a number of these hearings.

"This was the toughest one I have ever done.

"I have never chaired a review with such tragic consequences.

"We made it clear if the owner had not sacked and replaced the DPS immediately we would not have renewed the premises licence.

"We take underage drinking seriously and hope this sends a message to pub owners, landlords and landladies this will not be tolerated."

Mr Eccles, described at his inquest as 'a well-known and well-loved member of the farming community', was driving a Polaris Ranger Farmbike in Extwistle Road at around 12.40am when it crashed into a field after a night out drinking.

Documents at Tuesday's hearing said: "It is the view of Lancashire Constabulary that the licensing objectives relating to the Protection of Children from Harm and Public Safety are not being observed at the venue.

"Lancashire Constabulary say that on March 30 they attended a report of a road traffic collision involving a farm quad type vehicle. Unfortunately, a 16-year-old child involved in the collision was fatally injured.

"As a result of the police investigation, it was established the deceased child and two other males under the age of 18 had been sold alcohol at the premises in the preceding hours.

"Further visits at the premises raised concerns regarding the effectiveness of age-related checks, documentation relating to any such checks and refusals and the failure to be able to identify staff members responsible for underage sales."

The conditions imposed on The Ram Inn licence include the maintenance of a comprehensive CCTV system which retains images for 31 days, the installation of an electronic till system identifying each alcohol sale and the staff member responsible, and the operation of a Challenge 25 system where any customer seeking to buy alcohol who looks under 25 must produce valid proof of age,