- A new scheme to tackle binge drinking and under-age sex is being launched by Cumbria’s Guides. The Get Wise scheme will cover mental and physical health issues and encourages young women between 14 and 25 to educate their peers. The “peer educators” will be specially trained to tackle a range of issues – from binge drinking and sexual health through to bullying and stress. Cumberland News
- Edinburgh: More than 190 litres of alcohol were seized from under-age drinkers in the Capital as part of a £60,000 festive public safety blitz. Police and council officers patrolled the city centre throughout December, focusing on the Winter Wonderland attraction in Princes Street Gardens. The crackdown - the first of its kind in Edinburgh - was intended to reduce alcohol-related youth disorder and increase the public's sense of safety. A total of 90 youths were stopped and 191 litres of alcohol seized. In one weekend alone - December 16 and 17 - police stopped 41 youths and seized 46 litres of alcohol. Edinburgh Evening News
- Underage drinkers will be turning 'blue' at the thought of a new campaign to curb underage alcohol misuse in St.Helens. Police will be using a chemical testing kit containing a white strip of litmus paper that turns blue when dipped into any liquid containing alcohol. Merseyside Police has teamed up with St.Helens Council and Helena Housing to tackle young illegal teenagers disguising alcohol in soft drinks. When Officers receive reports of young people drinking and causing a nuisance, they can check claims that only soft drinks are being consumed. If the litmus strip turns blue, the alcohol will be confiscated and the parents of the young people involved will be informed. 24dash.com
- South Cambridgeshire MP Andrew Lansley says action must be taken to tackle Britain's binge-drinking culture. The Shadow Health Secretary spoke out as ambulance staff reported their busiest New Year's Eve since the Millennium. Mr Lansley wants to see the Government make a greater effort to crack down on the problem and encourage youngsters to act more responsibly.
"Anybody who has stood in an A&E Department and seen a 15-year-old comatose from drinking a bottle of vodka will understand this is a serious and worsening issue". Young people are too ignorant about alcohol. "They appear increasingly careless of the damage they are doing to themselves and are too susceptible to peer pressure." Cambridge Evening News
- A tough warning that adults will be fined a fixed penalty of £80 if they buy alcohol for teenagers who are underage. The message has come from Sutton's Police Licensing Department and the council's trading standards and licensing departments. Licensing sergeant Debbie Blight said the combined approach by police and the council in working closely with the borough's 391 licensed premises had made it much more difficult for youngsters to buy alcohol. However, what was happening increasingly,was that adults were buying it for them. She said: "What we are seeing now are 18-year-olds buying alcohol for groups of underage drinkers. I would urge communities to take on board our plea: 'Don't buy alcohol for young people'." icSurreyOnline
- Underage drinkers were targeted in a festive crackdown in Stamford. Members of the Stamford Pubwatch scheme are stepping up efforts to keep under-18s away by increasing identity checks at the door and the bar. And a poster campaign adopted by each of the scheme's 25 bars, pubs and clubs is aiming to raise awareness among youngsters – and their parents – of the dangers of drinking. Stamford Today
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