AN OFF licence is continuing to sell alcohol, three months after being banned for allegedly serving booze to children.

The Faisal Adil store in Ouseburn Road, Blackburn, had its licence revoked in February after police and trading standards officers said they spotted children as young as 13 buying alcoholic drinks.

But a legal loophole is allowing it to continue to trade. And officials are powerless to intervene while the legal wrangling drag on.

Now they are calling for more powers to crack down on licensees.

And Justice Minister Jack Straw has vowed to contact Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in a bid to end the "legal jiggery pokery" that is allowing the store to trade.

Last July a dossier of evidence was compiled by Blackburn with Darwen council against Adil Farook, who runs the store.

The information, which included complaints from residents living near the store, had been gathered from a series of covert operations from as far back as February 2007 and was presented in a report to the licensing committee.

The report said that on one occasion two 13-year-old girls were spotted leaving the store with bottles of Pernod under their jackets, that they said they had bought from the store.

And another time police recovered cider and cigarettes from two boys aged 13 and 14 as they left the store, the report said.

The case came before Blackburn with Darwen council's licensing committee in October, but was postponed pending the outcome of a separate criminal prosecution for selling alcohol to underage people, based on the same evidence.

The committee met again in February and this time decided to carry out the licensing review, despite Mr Farook's lawyers making representations to delay the hearing because of the pending court case.

Councillors decided to revoke the store's licence but Mr Farook's lawyers appealed against the decision, claiming it could jeopardise the criminal case - which is due to take place later this month.

The appeal, to magistrates, now won't be heard until June and until it is heard, the shop can continue to trade.

At a recent public meeting into underage drinking, Blackburn with Darwen council's senior trading standards officer Stephen Dundon said: "It's very frustrating that he can still trade."

And Mr Straw described the situation as "a nonsense" and vowed to speak to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Straw, the Blackburn MP, said: "I want to put an end to this kind of legal jiggery pokery.

"It's not satisfactory. When I was Home Secretary I wanted a very speedy process that would give most of the power to the local authorities.

"But there was a lot of pressure from the industry which claimed it wouldn't be fair and there had to be the right to appeal to the magistrates court.

"We are looking to make the process better and I have recently chaired a discussion in government about it."

Council bosses have written to Mr Straw to ask for a change in the Licensing Act to allow immediate suspension of a licence where trading standards officers have seen alcohol being served to under 18s.

Chris Allen, head of trading standards and environmental health, said: "Time and time again residents ask us, if a shop has been accused of selling alcohol to children, why can't it be shut down immediately. Under the present law that is not possible as there is a legal process which has to be gone through.

"We have to hold a 28 day consultation period asking the public to comment for or against the licence to sell alcohol being reviewed.

"The council's licensing committee then hears representation from all parties and makes a decision.

"The licence holder can then appeal and until that appeal is heard, can continue to sell alcohol.

"We're suggesting that the law could be amended to immediately suspend a premises licence to prevent the shop selling alcohol until the licensing review and any appeals are heard."

Mr Farook, who has run the shop for eight years, has previously claimed he has been "set up" by the authorities.

His wife, who manages the shop but did not want to be named, claimed the police had ignored the couple's requests for help to deal with rowdy youths.

She said the store had never sold alcohol to under 18s, and said she had video evidence showing them refusing to serve teenagers.

She added: "One time I asked a boy for ID and he just grabbed the bottle and ran off.

"We have never served under-age people because we know it can get us into so much trouble. But they are not even interested in our story.

"But it looks like we are going to lose our licence, the way they are after us.

"The way the council have been treating us is wrong.

"If we lose our licence we will have to close this shop."