Underage drinking - Test buyers a great idea

AS most parents can verify the years when their children reach the age when they start to drink can be very worrying and trying.

That situation is made even more difficult by drink retailers who are less than fastidious about the age of their customers.

The depth of the problem can be seen from the fact that only 210 off licences have been temporarily closed for selling alcohol to underage teenagers since 2003. That represents just 30 closures a year. Anyone with the perception of a beer mat knows that this figure does not even come close to accurately reflecting the problem.

It is all too easy to be hypocritical about drink but we all know of young people who get in trouble, who hurt themselves or others, because they have had access to drink long before they can cope with the experience.

We should do more to protect them and the suggestion from Dr Gordon Holmes, that we use moreunderage test buyers to expose off licences selling alcohol to teenagers should be taken up.