Breathalyser clampdown on teen drinkers (From Mid Devon Star)

Breathalyser clampdown on teen drinkers

11:35am Thursday 10th April 2008 in News By Phil Hill

TEENAGERS attending an under 18s disco in Tiverton are being breathalysed in a purge on underage drinking.

In one incident, a youth trying to get into one of the monthly events at Remedies nightclub was shown to be one and a half times the drink drive limit.

The Neighbourhood Policing Team in Tiverton decided to bring in the testing after some of the youngsters knocked back booze before getting into the club.

Sgt Rob Curtis, Neighbourhood Team Leader for Tiverton, said young people were searched and bottles and cans confiscated before getting into the discos.

He added: "Towards the end of last year, police and door staff noticed a worrying trend where a minority of young people attending would binge on alcohol immediately prior to entering the club.

"The effects weren't evident until inside the club when they would become disorderly and have to be ejected.

"To combat this, police spoke with the manager, Louise Read, and introduced a system whereby, as a condition of entry, random breath testing would take place.

"Young people attending the disco would then know that if door staff suspected they had been drinking they would have to provide a sample of breath for analysis in order to gain entry to the club."

Officers use the same equipment that they have to test drivers under the Road Traffic Act.

Sgt Curtis added: "We've listened to the concerns of the local community and underage drinking is high on the agenda.

"These new tactics show if even a minute trace of alcohol is in a young person's system allowing us to deal with them accordingly."