Alcohol wardens proposed in bid to cut underage drinking

A former headteacher is calling on the Scottish Executive to bring in alcohol wardens to monitor underage drinking in Edinburgh.

Frank Gerstenberg, who used to be the headmaster of George Watson's College in Edinburgh, claims underage drinking is rife in the city's pubs and clubs.

He has written to the Scottish Executive suggesting alcohol wardens are introduced to patrol Edinburgh's pubs seeking out underage drinkers.

The controversial move would mean a crackdown on licensees who do not ask for proof-of-age cards from youngsters.

But it would not just be licensees who would be hit with a hefty fine. As part of the move, Mr Gerstenberg wants to see youths fined for drinking underage and their parents also held responsible.

Mr Gerstenberg said: "Police prosecutions for underage drinking are rare, yet a visit to almost any pub in the centre of Edinburgh on a Friday or Saturday night will reveal a huge amount of underage drinking.

"Indeed, there are some pubs where the majority may well be underage."

He believes this tougher system would serve as a deterrent, but not everybody agrees.

Douglas Gillespie, licensee of the Alhambra Bar in Edinburgh, said: "I would totally disagree that underage drinking is rife in all Edinburgh's pubs and bars.

"I have been in the trade for five years and I haven't seen it."

But he added that he would support the idea of wardens to weed out the bad apples. "Licensees who do allow underage drinking should be punished," he said.

Jack Law, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, warned the proposals would be impossible to enforce. The group believes that issuing national identity cards for use as proof-of-age would be a better solution.

This mirrors the opinions of Alcohol Concern, alcohol watchdog The Portman Group and licensees across the UK.

In November last year, licensees teamed up with MPs to introduce a national standard format for all proof-of-age cards in a bid to stop sales to under-18s.

The PASS logo will now be introduced onto all proof-of-age cards to help stamp out forgeries.

Card schemes that qualify for the logo must include a photograph of the holder and the date of birth etched onto the card so they cannot easily be faked.

Ministers in Westminster have also said they are considering proposals for a voluntary national identity card.