A LICENSING application which could have seen the store at the centre of the biggest illegal tobacco seizure in Dudley given permission to sell alcohol again has been pulled.

European Food Express had asked Dudley Council’s licensing sub committee to reinstate its alcohol licence, which was withdrawn almost two years ago.

However when councillors met on Tuesday (July 24) to decide if the licence should be granted, they were informed that the application had been withdrawn.

The High Street shop’s alcohol licence was revoked in November 2016 after Trading Standards officers seized nearly 40,000 cigarettes and 58 packets of tobacco a few months earlier.

At the time, officers said it was the largest seizure in Dudley for five years and the loss in tax revenue amounted to £10,707.

A submission to have the licence reinstated in 2017 was rejected when the store’s owner failed to attend a licensing meeting.