Police seize alcohol in crackdown on hill parties

Large groups of youngsters, some as young as 15, are taking part in late-night drinking parties at a Shropshire beauty spot, police today said.

The teenagers who have been regularly gathering at Earl’s Hill near Pontesbury, in order to consume large quantities of alcohol have been littering the area of the nature reserve with dozens of empty beer cans and bottles.

Now police have launched a crackdown on the underage drinkers after stopping 16 youngsters aged between 15 and 18 on Friday night in the grounds of Mary Webb School in Pontesbury as they made their way to the site.

Officers confiscated dozens of cans of lager from the group of 11 boys and five girls – who were not from the immediate Pontesbury area – as well as bottles of vodka and other spirits.

Sergeant Darren Smith said: “Having mixed groups of youngsters of various ages in a remote location, unsupervised and with alcohol thrown into the equation, is an obvious recipe for trouble and police will do all they can to stop these events.”

Constable Jon Summerfield, who carried out Friday’s alcohol seizure, said: “Last year, there were regular parties on the hill, creating a large amount of litter. There have already been two parties this year.

“On Friday, the group were spoken to about the dangers and the alcohol seized. Their parents were also contacted on the night and advised of the details.”

Parents will now be sent letters while officers will be carrying out regular patrols and asking local shops not to sell alcohol to young people.

Resident Brian Morris, who sits on the local parish council, said this was not the first occasion this year the hill had been used for drinking parties.

“The weekend before the one just gone we did a big clear-up. We cleared up 50 to 60 empty cans of lager and half a sackful of spirit bottles,” he said.

“There are a group of people locally who do clear the mess up because we like the place we live in.”

Mr Morris said the amount of parties on the hill could increase as summer arrived.