A new scheme to curb underage drinking on the North Coast will be launched in Coleraine later this week.

Spearheaded by a partnership comprising of the Police Service, the local licensed trade, Coleraine Borough Council and the Northern Ireland Electoral Office, the campaign has been prompted by widely-held community concerns.

Those concerns were identified through the ‘Coleraine 18+’ initiative which gave police and local council representatives the opportunity to focus on the number of young people gaining access to alcohol.

Fuelling their anxiety was the startling fact that that consumption of alcohol is a factor in approximately 50% of all crimes and as much as 90% of offences involving public disorder.

Under the new initiative to be launched on Wednesday, young people who appear to be under the age of 18 will be asked by trained Door Supervisors at venues across the Borough to prove their age by producing approved photographic ID.

The new ‘Prove Your Age’ campaign which will be heavily promoted in young people’s venues and in the wider community, is another development pioneered by Coleraine’s Safer Dancing Committee.

(MB)