A decline in booze seized from under-age drinkers during Sidmouth’s carnival night is ‘reassuring’, says the town’s police sergeant.

An operation to tackle teens consuming alcohol on Saturday proved a success and the neighbourhood policing team confiscated a number of bottles and cans.

Officers added the items to those seized at Seaton Carnival on September 5, taking the total from both towns to around 60 drinks.

The team also seized several canisters of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas.

Sergeant Andy Squires said that the number of teenagers found with alcohol was down from previous years.

He added: “This year has been an improvement in the number of drunken teenagers that we have had to deal with.

“In the past couple of years, it has been a lot worse. I have had a bigger table of alcohol from Sidmouth alone. This [latest total] was the combination of Sidmouth and Seaton, that is quite reassuring.

“It is the odd one or two [teens] that do not know when to stop.”

Sgt Squires said that it is an offence for anyone under the age of 18 to be in possession of alcohol - or for someone over 18 to buy alcohol with the intention to give it to someone who is under-age.

“We are not doing it to stop anyone’s fun. We want to prevent the drunken burden on the emergency services later in the evening,” he added.

“We stop and search every youngster with a rucksack we come across by consent, to see what they are carrying.

“If there is any alcohol open, we will discard it or bring it back to the police station. Their names and details are taken.”

Officers will dispose of the seized items.