Shock rise in child boozers

More than 900 children have been caught abusing alcohol in Greater Manchester official figures have revealed.

A total of 910 under-18s in the region were fined, cautioned or taken to court for booze-related offences between 2003 and 2007, according to Home Office records.

They included 774 aged 16 or 17, 135 aged 13 to 15 and one under 12.

The Liberal Democrats called the figures “shocking” and demanded an end to alcohol being sold at “pocket-money prices”.

The party said the number of under-18s involved in alcohol-related offences across England and Wales had increased by almost a third, from 6,764 in 2003 to 8,686 in 2007, with the five-year total reaching 39,714 — including 124 children aged 10 to 12.

Lib-Dems home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne, who obtained the figures through Parliamentary questions, said they “painted a shocking picture” of how many children were “dragged into the criminal justice system through alcohol abuse”.

He said: “The problem appears to be growing worse by leaps and bounds.

“Ministers talk a lot about the alcohol crisis in this country but have completely failed to tackle it.”

A Home Office spokesman responded: “We are determined to reduce under-age drinking through effective education and tough enforcement against irresponsible retailers who sell alcohol to young people.

“We are toughening the penalties for those premises that sell alcohol to children.”