A bookmaker's drive to protect young people from the potentially harmful effects of gambling has seen it hit market leading levels of ID checking performance in Tunbridge Wells.

The UK’s leading independent ID auditors across all sectors of British retail Serve Legal, visited every William Hill shop in the UK with undercover teens.

Results show that they were challenged for ID on 88.6 per cent of visits to the bookmakers’ Tunbridge Wells branches.

Nationwide William Hill checks stood at 86 per cent compared to 85 per cent in supermarkets and on garage forecourts and 82 per cent in convenience stores.

Matt Eastwood, commercial manager at London-based Serve Legal, said: "Nationwide William Hill are now on a par with supermarkets and convenience stores who have traditionally been the highest performing sector from facing checks from trading standards and police.

"The bookmaking sector has raised the bar significantly and improved performance in the past five years – in 2009 it was 50 per cent ID check rate and now they are in the mid 80s.

"But now bookmakers are more focused due to the amount of pressure they are getting and they are putting in the effort and getting results."

Results show that William Hill has improved its ID checking statistics year on year.

Serve Legal carry out 90,000 independent shop visits a year and cover the entire retail sector on the subject of ID compliance and age testing.

The company employ youngsters aged 18 and 19 to carry out the checks nationwide.

Andrew Lyman, of William Hill, said: "We are delighted by the latest findings, but will not be sitting back and resting on our laurels.

"The staff in Tunbridge Wells are doing a very effective job in identifying possible underage visitors to our shops.

"William Hill operates a "Think 21" policy which means that a challenge should be made to any individual who, on any objective view, appears to be 21 or younger. Individuals are required to produce a valid photo ID as proof of age."

"We have two distinct measures of success; those being the overall challenge rate and the challenge at entry rate.

"We are now focused on driving up the challenge on entry rate because we recognise the imperative of challenging straight away any young person who enters s betting shop before they can attempt to gamble."

Failing to operate the Think 21 policy is considered to be an act of gross misconduct at William Hill and absent any mitigating factors, colleagues who do not perform well in the area can be dismissed.