Soft drinks tested for alcohol

Police covering Kidderminster and parts of Stourbridge are cracking down on young drinkers with a special test to check for alcohol in soft drinks bottles.

Alcohol test strips are to be used by officers to test youngsters' drinks. It follows concerns that young people are mixing alcohol and soft drinks or switching the original soft drinks for booze. West Mercia Crime Reduction Officer Pc Stan Baker said: "The alcohol test strips are being used by police and community support officers when encountering groups of young people.

"We have already had two positive results in the first month which has enabled us to pour away the drink.

"We hope young people will get the message that it is quite literally money down the drain.

"We have concerns that not only does consuming alcohol lead to an increase in anti social behaviour, but drinking too much can compromise a young person's safety, making them ill, increasing the risk of them having an accident, and making them vulnerable to sexual or physical assaults."

Police can confiscate open bottles and cans within designated alcohol restriction zones.

Failure to hand over the alcohol is an arrestable offence, for which the maximum penalty is £500.

The police can also seize alcohol from under 18s under the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act.

Police are also urging off-licences not to sell alcohol to under 21s, especially when staff suspect it is being bought for under 18s to consume.