Kilmarnock man refused a single can of lager

Mar 6 2009 by Ian Russell, Kilmarnock Standard

STAFF at a filling station drove a Kilmarnock man round the bend when they refused to sell him a single can of lager.

A bewildered Robert Morris was told he’d have to buy a pack of four cans.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said a stunned Robert, 38.

“The government is always banging on about binge-drinking and the high rate of alcoholism.

“Yet when I only wanted one can of beer, I was put under pressure to buy four.”

Robert, of Vatersay Place, was driving home from work on Thursday night when he thought he’d call in at the shop at the BP filling station at Bellfield roundabout for a lager and a packet of crisps to enjoy later that night.

“To my surprise I was told they wouldn’t sell me a single can of Budweiser. I’d have to buy a four-pack.

“That seemed very odd to me. I’d never come across it elsewhere before.”

Robert was even more puzzled by the fact the cans on the shelves were individually priced.

When he questioned the member of staff, he was assured the ‘four-pack or more’ ruling was part of the licensing law which applied to the outlet.

“Such a ruling surely only promotes more drinking,” says Robert.

Unimpressed, he left the BP shop empty-handed, but didn’t give up.

“I drove to the Spar shop in Dean Street,” he said, “and bought a single can of lager and a packet of crisps there without any problem.

“I even kept the receipt to show to the people at the BP shop.”

When the Standard contacted the Bellfield interchange filling station a spokesman confirmed that they wouldn’t sell anyone a single can of beer.

“It’s down to the type of licence we have,” he said. “We are not allowed to split a pack of four and sell one can.”

But a spokeswoman for the licensing authority, East Ayrshire Council, said that was not the case.

“There is no such condition,” she said. “This is solely a matter for the individual retailer – there is nothing in the licences we grant that prevents a single can of beer being sold to a customer.”