WILLITON'S Co-operative Supermarket has had its licence to sell National Lottery tickets and scratchcards suspended.

Lottery operator Camelot confirmed the suspension this week and said it was waiting to discover the outcome of an "internal investigation" before deciding on what action, if any, to take.

The suspension is believed to have been triggered after the parents of a young girl complained she had been sold a ticket at the Williton store despite being under the age of 16.

It is illegal to sell any National Lottery products to anyone who is not aged 16 or over.

A spokesman for the Co-operative Group said: "All our members of staff receive regular training on selling age-related products and we take the matter very seriously.

"We are confident that this was an isolated incident and we have addressed it with the member of staff concerned.

"We are co-operating with Camelot's investigation and we hope to be able to sell National Lottery products again very soon."

A spokesman for Camelot said it took all alleged breaches seriously as it had to be seen to acting in a "socially responsible" way.

"This involves running the National Lottery with the utmost integrity.

"In order to do this, we adhere to the highest standards in player protection.

"We are committed to investigating allegations made against any retailer selling National Lottery tickets.

"Such allegations are very rare.

"As part of this ongoing commitment, we can confirm that we have suspended a National Lottery retailer in Williton, pending an internal investigation," the spokesman said.

She said any retailer found to be in breach of their retailer agreement, or who was deemed to have undermined the integrity and security of The National Lottery, could lose their National Lottery facilities.