With the school summer break up on the horizon, many local residents are awaiting another summer full of underage drinkers and the carnage that this social smudge brings. Kids hanging around bored due to the lack of local facilities, coupled with hot weather and alchohol is an explosive mixture waiting to happen.

Police forces recognise this and some have started to make regular trips past known underage drinking ‘hotspots’. Only last week, the Police in Port Glasgow, had a clamp down on underage drinking. Commiting a large presence to the streets the Police force rounded up 15 youngsters who were caught drinking alchohol.

The collared youths were not taken to the Police station but to a temporary HQ set-up at a local school where various groups where waiting to help offer assistance with activities that were on-going throughout the Summer.

Inspector Graeme McDiarmid says “Friday’s, operation saw 15 youngsters aged between 12 and 16 being brought in and a further 42 had turned up due to a leaflet drop”. Some of the groups present included a boxing club, a break dancing club and The Princes Trust.

Some of the kids that had been caught drinking had their parents called and upon arrival were shocked and embarrassed to see their children receiving counselling about the dangers of young drinkers becoming involved in crime. Inspector McDiarmid says a total of 79 litres of alcohol were confiscated off the streets, including bottles that belonged to 9 adults. With the school holidays just around the corner and many parents left with no option but to continue working, are we really sure we know what our children are up to?