Breath-testing for young drinkers

Under-age drinkers in the streets and parks in Colwyn Bay could be tested by police armed with breathalyser kits.

The pilot scheme in north Wales will see also officers using test strips to see if drinks have alcohol in them.

Any teenagers who fail the test - or who have alcohol on them - will be taken home under the scheme.

A similar project targeting young drinkers took place in Wrexham last summer as part of a UK government drive to reduce binge drinking.

A Home Office spokesman said the department would monitor the success of the scheme.

"The government is committed to tackling crime and disorder associated with binge-drinking and any measures which aim to reduce crime and disorder are to be encouraged," she said.

"Police and local authorities already have a wide range of tools to tackle alcohol-related disorder following a number of recent initiatives and we will be keeping a watching brief on the results of this pilot."

The scheme in north Wales follows an announcement of £875,000 of funding to tackle under-age drinking.

Last month, officers in North Wales staged a 16-day operation confiscating alcohol from teenagers.

Drink including 14 litres of cider and 55 cans of lager was seized.

According to official figures, 65 under-12s were treated for alcohol misuse in 2006/07.

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