Police action over under-age drinking

Police in Ludlow are cracking down on adults who buy booze for underage drinkers by dishing out £80 fines.

Two fixed penalty notices have been handed out in the last week to a man and a woman in the town who were caught buying alcohol for youngsters under 18.

It comes after the matter was raised by the multi-agency group Ludlow Matters.

Constable Dan Wood, police officer for Ludlow, said anyone identified as having purchased alcohol for a minor would be dealt with. "It is a criminal offence to buy alcohol for or on behalf of a person under the age of 18, known as proxy purchasing to many people," he said.

"A 22-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman were both recently given fixed penalty notices of £80 after admitting they had been buying alcohol for minors in separate incidents.

"While I have issued fixed penalty notices for these first offences, if either of the two people concerned do it again, they will be reported and appear before a court.

"This will also be the case for anyone else we identify committing the offence."