Police b-test yobs on street

If they fail the breath test they will be marched home by officers and their parents will be quizzed.

The move follows concerns by police forces, youth workers and MPs that teenagers are routinely getting drunk on cheap alcohol and harassing or attacking people, while their parents do not appear to care where they are or what they are doing.

In some cases, the binge-drinking scourge involves children as young as seven.

A pilot scheme is to get under way soon in one area where the crisis is at its worst.

But other forces will be watching closely.

If it is successful, the scheme could soon be rolled out across the rest of Britain. Last night news of the scheme, in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, was welcomed by a wide cross-section of MPs.

The Tory MP for Monmouth David Davies – who also deals with under-age drinking first-hand as a special police constable in London – described the idea as “brilliant”.

He said: “I often have to confiscate alcohol from kids standing around street corners drinking in London.

“I think it is great that police will be given the power to tackle the issue with parents. Imagine their shock when the police car pulls up in front of the family home.

“Obviously one of  the problems with under-age drinking is that parents are complicit in it, sometimes even supplying their children.

“Sadly, some parents will not be bothered because they don’t care.”

Chris Huhne, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, said: “This  sounds like a sensible idea to get parents to take more responsibility for the behaviour of their children.

“The involvement of parents and communities in combating drunkenness and anti-social behaviour on our streets is far more important than any Government announcements.”

David Davis, Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Technology clearly has a role to play but it is no substitute for the enforcement of the law or a commitment to tackle the causes of under-age drinking in the first place.”

Last night Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was committed to ending the scourge of under-age drinking on Britain’s streets.

She added: “Police must have all the powers they need to make groups of young people drinking in public places a thing of the past.”

East Conwy police inspector Jane Banham, who is behind the plan, explained: “Any young people who fail the breath tests will be taken home to their parents. We are targeting teen-drinking hotspots.”

The move follows growing outrage over under-age binge-drinking, which came to a head last August with the horrific murder of father-of-three Garry Newlove, 47.

He was battered to death in front of his family by a gang of drunken teenagers outside his home in Warrington, Cheshire.

Adam Swellings, 19, Stephen Sorton, 17, and Jordan Cunliffe, 16, had drunk  vast quantities of Stella Artois lager and strong cider before kicking the sales manager to death. They were given life sentences at Chester Crown Court in January.

After Mr Newlove’s death, Cheshire Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy slammed parents for not controlling their children. Furious Mr Fahy said: “This should be a child protection issue and dealt with as part of care proceedings.

“That’s the bit the criminal justice system struggles with. When you’ve got a parent who just doesn’t care, what do you do?’’

He also called for the drinking age limit to be raised to 21.

Police across the country have reported a big rise in alcohol-related attacks and harassment, with drink-fuelled incidents up by 50 per cent in cities like Manchester. Colwyn Bay’s county Conwy and neighbouring Denbighshire were among the 10 worst counties in the UK.

On average, almost 650 in every 100,000 people there seek help for problems with alcohol – 100 times more than the Welsh average.

In the past year alone, 40 under-16s have been treated for alcohol-related illnesses at the Glan Clwyd Hospital.

Problems with street drinking have already led to alcohol bans in towns  from Holyhead to Flint.

Holyhead youth leader Jeff Evans said: “I’m totally in favour of anything that helps police ensure that young people behave in an acceptable way.”