- Wales has opened its first drug and alcohol helpline. It offers bilingual specialist services throughout Wales and is available 24 hours each day. Launching the line at an exhibition of paintings done by offenders as a part of their drug rehabilitation, Minister for Social Justice and Regeneration, Edwina Hart said: "It represents an important step in our continuing efforts to tackle substance misuse and is part of wider aims to improve health as part of Health Challenge Wales. "It will have a major impact on accessing substance misuse treatment and advice and lead to wide ranging benefits for individuals, as well as their families, communities and organisations. The helpline number is 0800 6 33 55 88. All calls from landlines will be free, although some mobile phone networks may charge. News Wales
- Police have linked a crackdown on under-age drinkers with a drop in violent crime. Officers seized a staggering 50 litres of booze over Friday and Saturday in Inverclyde. Extra patrols swooped from as far afield as Port Glasgow to Inverkip and Wemyss Bay as part of the Safer Scotland campaign. Buckfast, cider and beer, often carried in plastic lemonade bottles, were the most popular confiscated tipples. And as part of the crackdown, drinkers of all ages were reported to the procurator fiscal. A Gourock licensee was also reported to the procurator fiscal for selling alcohol to a 16-year-old boy. But they saved the latest haul to hit home that under-age drinking will not be tolerated. Chief Inspector Tony O'Donnell said: "We launched a high-visibility operation across the estates to identify street drinkers and check out youths hanging around. "The operation has been a success because there were no serious or violent assaults that weekend, which does show a causal link with alcohol." Greenock Telegraph
- Police are planning an operation to tackle anti-social behaviour among young people in the Isle of Man. Large groups of youths, aged 13 to 16, have been gathering in areas such as Noble's Park and Douglas Promenade. Police said many of them were drinking alcohol, which often led to fighting, vandalism and anti-social behaviour. Sgt Mark Britton, of the Isle of Man Constabulary, urged parents to take responsibility for their children and find out where they were going. The operation comes in response to problems on 22 September when about 150 youths gathered at Noble's Park. BBC News
- A crackdown on underage drinking netted 30 litres of alcohol in Duns on Saturday evening (23/9). Police patrols in Market Square and the Langtongate area of the town were carried out as part of the nationwide initiative, Safer Scotland. After the alcohol was confiscated letters were sent out to the parents of the youth involved. Lothian and Borders Police are now trying to identify the people responsible for supplying the alchol to the children. Berwickshire Today
- Reporters who carried out a series of undercover tests in the toilets of Crawley's High Street pubs on a Friday evening found traces of cocaine in every single one. Traces of the drug were found around the cistern, toilet-paper dispenser and on tiled services in Bar Med, Liquid Envy, Brannigans, The Rat & Parrot, The Old Punch Bowl, The Brewery Shades, The Ja Ja Bar and The Jubilee Oak. Chris Cordell, manager at Crawley Addaction, an agency dealing with the effects of drug and alcohol misuse, said he was 'not at all surprised' by the results, adding that reporters were 'naïve' if they expected anything different. He said: "It's well known that cocaine users, especially recreational cocaine users, use the drug in facilities where recreation is going on." Crawley Today
- A senior judge has criticised levels of weekend drink-related violence on the streets of Preston city centre – and says last orders should be 9pm. Judge Robert Brown was summing up in the case of a Saturday night brawl in which one man suffered fractures to his nose and knuckle. At the end of the Preston Crown Court trial, he said: "Alas it seems to have been a typical Saturday night in Preston city centre. "This court would be a much quieter place if they stopped serving alcohol at 9pm." Lancashire Evening Post
- Insurers have told the family of a British tourist who became critically ill after falling while on holiday in Florida that her cover is invalid because she had been drinking. Kathleen Ackers, 63, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, slipped and hit her head in Orlando. She suffered bleeding to her brain and is in intensive care in hospital. Her husband, Ted, said Halifax Travel Insurance initially agreed to pay for her to be airlifted by helicopter for specialist treatment. But the company changed its mind after learning that Mrs Ackers had drunk enough to make her nearly four times over the legal limit for driving. A clause in the family's insurance policy reads: "Your policy does not cover you for any claim directly or indirectly resulting from…the misuse of alcohol or you being under the influence of alcohol." Telegraph
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