Sidmouth teens found boozing

TEENS as young as 14 were found boozing by police in Sidmouth last week.

TEENS as young as 14 were found boozing by police in Sidmouth last week.

Around 30 litres of beer and lager as well as six litres of spirits were seized by officers during the latest round of Operation Piva on Saturday night.

Police targeted under-age drinking hot spots and found a large group of teens drinking at Manstone Skateboard Park.

Evidence of recent drug-taking was also found but officers are not linking the incidents.

Sergeant Andy Turner told the Herald he was disappointed to find some youngsters, who police have spoken to in the past, drinking alcohol in public.

He said: "We have given kids the message and now we need the help of parents to try and stamp this behaviour out altogether."

A 14-year-old boy was found with eight cans of lager and he told police he was intending to drink all of it by himself.

Sergeant Turner added: "Most medical professionals will tell you that drinking that amount of alcohol, especially for a 14-year-old, will significantly harm them."

Officers will continue to run Operation Piva and are calling for parents to take greater responsibility in ensuring they know what their children are up to.

Sergeant Turner also said police have an obligation to inform social services of any "interaction" they have with children- and that includes reporting them for underage drinking.

He added: "If any kind of pattern emerges, social services will take action.