CHILDREN were dropped off by their parents at a York park laden with carrier bags full of booze, shocked police revealed today.

Now officers - who have seized more than 70 litres of alcohol in an underage drinking crackdown across York - plan to turn the sports field at Strensall into the city's latest no-go zone for drinkers.

They are also now providing off-licences and shops with stickers to attach to boxes of lager and wine warning anybody who buys alcohol for under-18s that they face a £5,000 fine.

Licensing officer PC Mick Wilkinson said he was shocked by reports of parents dropping children off with carrier bags of alcohol in Strensall's Durlston Drive area. "But it highlights the fact that some parents actively condone their children drinking. It's ridiculously irresponsible and can't be tolerated," he said.

Following a police purge on underage drinking in York earlier this year, officers revealed that they confiscated 41 litres of beer and lager, 19 litres of cider, ten litres of wine, two litres of spirits and one litre of alcopops - all now destroyed - after targeting areas where teenagers gather to drink.

An order is being prepared to make Durlston Drive York's 17th alcohol exclusion zone - meaning anybody refusing to stop drinking there when asked to by police will be arrested, regardless of age - with a view to having it in place by the end of this month.

"It doesn't surprise me that underage youths are drinking in the streets, but what we have to get to the bottom of is where they are getting the alcohol from," said PC Wilkinson. "A lot of the problem with underage drinking is down to the supervision of children by their parents and the fact alcohol can be bought so cheaply - sometimes it's cheaper than bottled water.

"Underage drinking is a gateway to antisocial behaviour - the perception of youths drinking in the street can put people in fear of crime. That's why people contact us to say certain shops sell alcohol to children or that particular areas have problems.

"We are always confident we will find out where children are congregating to drink, because people are very vigilant about these things and they don't want antisocial behaviour on their doorstep."

The off-licences provided with warning stickers are mainly in areas where police have been warned underage drinking is rife.

PC Wilkinson said: "It's aimed at the problem of proxy purchasing', where over-18s buy alcohol for their underage friends. The stickers are a reminder of what will happen to them, so they can't say they haven't been warned."

Although officers can seize alcohol from underage drinkers, downing it in the street is not an offence, and PC Wilkinson said: "The problem we have is proving where they bought it - we have to target and prosecute shops who are not doing the necessary checks."


* HEALTH bosses have met to discuss ways of reducing antisocial behaviour, violence and deaths in Yorkshire caused by excessive drinking. The NHS Yorkshire and the Humber will spend an extra £7 million in the coming financial year on drugs and alcohol treatments and raising awareness of the dangers of over indulging.

Drink-related incidents cost the organisation an estimated £1.7 million a year in the region, which has almost one million people with an alcohol problem.


Totally irresponsible' parents are condemned

A LOCAL councillor has spoken out about the underage drinking problems in her area.

Madeleine Kirk, City of York councillor for Strensall ward, and the Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for York Outer, said: "As far as I'm aware there have been recent cases where parents have dropped their children off at the sports field at Durlston Drive with bags of alcohol."

Coun Kirk said residents in that area had either complained to her or the police, after seeing parents dropping off their children at the sports field with bags of alcohol.

She said she believed the children were probably aged between 14 and 16.

"I haven't heard of any very recent occurrences, but that doesn't mean that parents still aren't doing this," she said. "The problem could resurface because of the improving weather. The parents have obviously got to be discouraged - it's totally irresponsible. Many of the children don't even live in the ward - this is parents bringing them several miles to a location to drink.

"This type of activity is just the kind of thing that we're trying to stamp out by bringing in the alcohol exclusion zone." She praised the police for supporting the local community on the issue.

Peter Jesse, chair of Strensall and Towthorpe Parish Council, said the sports field was being secured with a 2.4 metre fence in an attempt to keep the teenagers off the land.

He said: "I'm afraid the problem will happen again I do hope sincerely that it doesn't and this action will stop it. Talking with the police, my perception is the problem has reduced. I'm not saying it doesn't happen anymore."