School children to get ID cards

From today, thousands of secondary school children in Antrim will be given a new identity card.

Antrim Council is the first council in Northern Ireland to introduce the Citizen Card scheme to all secondary schools within the borough.

It believes it will make it easier for retailers to distinguish the age of young people when selling products such as alcohol and cigarettes.

The council said there had been a very positive response from businesses.

"They've been delighted that we have been rolling out this scheme in such a comprehensive manner throughout schools," environmental health officer Philip Thompson said.

"The uptake from school children in the borough has been tremendous and we are approaching approximately 2,000 cards being issued."

The council took on board the views of local businesses before deciding to introduce the Citizen Card.

This resulted in a multi-agency partnership being set up to ensure all pupils under the age of 18 have easy access to the card.

The partnership included representatives of Antrim Borough Council, local secondary schools, local businesses, the police and Citizen Card.

The initiative is being launched at Clotworthy Arts Centre on Tuesday.