Councillor: Parents buying alcohol for their underage children

10.34.56am GMT Tue 17th Nov 2009

Parents arr buying cheap alcohol in supermarkets and giving to their underage children

Cllr Carol Beardmore ( Lib Dem Eccleshill ) will today urge the Young People and Education Improvement Committee to scrutinise the health issues of young people.

She said,

" There are many issues the committee can look at but I want them to look particularly at underage drinkers. Not only does this lead to anti-social behaviour but young people are damaging their health too.

In Eccleshill they are drinking in the parks and on the streets. Recent work locally has shown that that cheap alcohol from supermarkets is being bought by parents who are passing it on to their children. Yet all the police can do is pour the drink down the drain and move the young people on.

We are not managing this problem at all. We need stricter enforcement especially on the number of off- licenses, alcohol free zones and better things for young people to do rather than staying out at night getting cold and drunk and causing problems for residents as well as damaging their own health."