THE owner of a shop caught selling alcohol to under-age youngsters has vowed to prove her innocence.

Welcombe Stores in Park North has been banned from selling booze for three months after being caught out by undercover Trading Standards volunteers.

But owner Sue Ratoo feels she has been treated harshly and victimised by the authorities.

She is confident the problem of unruly youngsters is nothing to do with the shop.

Mrs Ratoo said: "The decision is totally unfair. We thought about it but we are not going to appeal. We are going to prove to the police that these yobs are not getting drinks from us.

"The police are blaming others rather than themselves. They are allowing these groups to gather."

The ban was handed to the shop by Swindon Borough Council's Licensing Panel, which heard police had recorded 52 incidents of anti-social behaviour from youths who had been drinking near the shop between January and December 2006.

The police also had a report that the shop had sold cigarettes to a girl of about eight.

But when staff checked CCTV they saw it was a regular customer who is a young-looking 17-year-old.

The teenager in question, Beth Hearn, is a New College student from Park North.

She said: "I was insulted when I heard that they had said I was eight. I found it offensive. I know I look young but eight is a bit too far."

Mrs Ratoo said: "The anti-social behaviour is just going to carry on because of the open space. They will still be there during the ban because it's not us selling them alcohol.

"The buy drinks and go there because it's an open space. That's why they roam around."

Mrs Ratoo says the ban will cost the shop between £25,000 and £30,000.

She is angry that the police took the word of the youths over the shop staff's when asked where they bought the drink.

"We are the victims," she said. "The police said one girl told them she had bought a bottle of vodka from our shop and was going to get another one - but the police were out because we had called them.

"Our CCTV shows that girl didn't come in the shop and she said it was us because we had asked her to move along.

"All the logs of complaints from neighbours were at 10pm or 11pm but we close at 9pm."

Mrs Ratoo has installed an expensive CCTV camera and mosquito device to deter gangs of teenagers.

"To be honest I regret ever opening a shop in Swindon," she said.