Underage drinking in Borders 'worse than first feared'

Ally McGilvray 1606 - 1606 • Published 5 Dec 2008 12:35 0 Comments

CHILDREN as young as ten-years-old have been caught during a police clampdown on underage drinking in the Borders in the past year, it has emerged.

The shocking figures were unveiled at a meeting of Scottish Borders Council"s Licensing Board (West Division) in Galashiels.

It heard a total of 404 youngsters, aged between 10 and 18, were spoken to by cops called to alcohol-related incidents in the region and 41 were arrested.

However, after making unannounced visits to local pubs and clubs during a fact-finding tour of the Borders last month, councillors fear the problem of underage drinking is far worse then first feared.

Councillor John Paton-Day, Leaderdale and Melrose, said: 'I don"t know what we can do about it but we need to do something.'

He added: 'We have these figures in front of us but we could probably treble that and end up with a more realistic number.'

Meanwhile, police revealed there were a total of 996 incidents in licensed premises between January 1 and November 24, with the majority - 353 - in Galashiels.

Councillor Gavin Logan, Tweeddale East, who claimed a pub in Hawick appeared to be full of underage drinkers when councillors visited it last month, said: 'The four clubs I went into seemed to be very well run. It seems more likely that any trouble would be caused outside.'

Earlier this year we reported that the late licence held by Move Music Venue and Indigo Rooms in Galashiels are under-threat following concerns raised by Scottish Borders Licensing Forum.

However licensing board chairman, Councillor Willie Archibald, who called for members to make more regular unannounced visits to pubs and clubs across the Borders, said: 'These enable us to speak with some authority instead of statements being made from people who hadn"t been in clubs for some 30 years.'

Councillor Vicky Davidson, Selkirkshire, asked police if they had any plans to host a Blue Light Disco in the Borders following their success combating underage drinking in other regions.

Police said there were no plans at present but pointed out test purchasing would continue to target retailers who sold alcohol to youths under 18.

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This article appeared in Border Telegraph 05 Dec 08

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