Shopworkers union Usdaw is lobbying the government to make ‘No ID, No Sale’ notices compulsory in stores across the UK to stamp out underage sales.

The focus on ‘No ID, No Sale’ is to be the main theme of the union’s annual Respect For Shopworkers Day on July 13. This follows an Usdaw survey of 600 stores, which showed that store workers who refuse the illegal sale of alcohol, lottery tickets and cigarettes to the underaged can trigger verbal abuse, intimidation and assaults.

According to the survey, the main trigger for violence is refusal to sell alcohol to young people who look under 18.

Usdaw general secretary John Hannett commented: “I would challenge anyone to be able to easily identify today’s teenagers as being the legal age to buy anything from solvents to alcohol, so it’s totally unfair to expect store staff to do so without a photo ID.”