Alcohol sentence for Bush daughter

Chuy's restaurant in a fashionable area of Austin

One of President George W Bush's twin teenage daughters, Barbara, has pleaded no contest a charge of underage drinking.

The case arises from an incident in a restaurant in Austin, Texas, on 29 May in which Barbara and her twin sister, Jenna, were questioned by police.

Jenna has pleaded innocent to charges of misrepresenting her age as she tried to buy alcohol.

Both women are 19. Texas law prohibits anyone under 21 from buying or drinking alcohol.

On probation

Barbara was sentenced to eight hours of community service, put on probation for three months and ordered to attend an alcohol awareness course, the Associated Press news agency reported court records as showing.

She was also told to pay $100 in court costs.

If convicted, Jenna Bush could lose her driving licence for up to 90 days because it would be a second offence, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Barbara and Jenna Bush were both charged

The incident, at Chuy's restaurant in a fashionable area of Austin, came only two weeks after Jenna was ordered on an alcohol awareness course after police found her drinking beer in an Austin bar.

In that case, Jenna had pleaded no contest to the charge of being a minor in possession of alcohol.

She was ordered to perform eight hours of community service as well as being sent on a six-hour course to learn about alcohol abuse.

The White House declined to comment on the incident, describing it as a "private family matter".

Family history

Underage drinking laws are strictly enforced in the US, but college students habitually try to break them.

Jenna is a first-year student at the University of Texas, while Barbara studies at Yale University in Connecticut.

Mr Bush admitted to having a drink problem in his younger days.

Shortly before last November's presidential election it was revealed that he was arrested for drink-driving 25 years ago after drinking several beers in a bar.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour charge, paid a $150 fine and had his driving licence suspended.

But in 1986 Mr Bush appeared to go through a religious awakening and quit drinking.