A Tipton shop has had its license revoked after a scandal involving a missing £920 lottery prize. Sandwell Council took the decision to withdraw the license from Best One Store in Market Place, Great Bridge, after its owner, Vincent Shaanmugarajah Thamilnesan, gave inconsistent and conflicting explanations about his involvement in the theft of a winning lottery ticket.
The shop became the focus of a West Midlands Police investigation after a staff member was accused of stealing the lottery ticket and failing to award the rightful prize to the customer. Initially, the victim was paid £30 in winnings but later discovered the actual prize should have been £920.
Cllr Matt Lloyd, chair of the licensing committee, stated that Mr. Thamilnesan had provided multiple varying accounts regarding the fate of the winning ticket. This lack of clarity led the panel to question his reliability and ultimately resulted in the revocation of the shop’s license to operate as a 24-hour establishment.
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During the investigation, Mr. Thamilnesan misled police officers by denying ownership of the shop and claiming he could not access the CCTV footage—only to retract these statements in a follow-up interview. Compounding the issue, crucial CCTV footage had been overwritten prior to the police inquiry, limiting the investigation’s effectiveness.
Sandwell Council’s licensing enforcement expressed serious concerns about the shop’s management and recommended to the committee that the license should be considered for revocation. Official procedures dictate that shopkeepers are prompted by the lottery ticket machine to alert customers about wins; Mr. Thamilnesan admitted he “hadn’t noticed” these indications. The machine would have instructed that prizes be claimed online if the shop was unable to pay out.
The licensing committee initially met on June 30 to review the case but deferred the hearing due to language interpreter issues for Mr. Thamilnesan. The hearing resumed on July 10, when the license was formally withdrawn.
Representing Mr. Thamilnesan, barrister Duncan Craig argued there was no dishonesty or profit to be gained as the owner would still have had to claim the prize himself. He stated, “There has been no loss sustained and nothing gained.” Mr. Thamilnesan also stated that, following legal advice, he admitted to the ticket theft and agreed to a community resolution—a police tool for resolving minor offences without court proceedings.
Prior to the council hearing, Camelot, the lottery ticket operator, had already revoked Mr. Thamilnesan’s license to sell lottery tickets.