Oxford opts for Validate
Licensees in Oxford are supporting a new initiative aimed at clamping down on under-age drinking. Members of the city's pubwatch are backing the Validate proof-of-age card scheme, which aims to stop the sale of a range of age-restricted products, including alcohol, to under 18s. There are versions of the card for those aged 16 and above and for over 18s. Carol Brodie, spokeswoman for Validate UK, said recent changes in licensing legislation had put more pressure on licensees to find out the age of customers before they served them. Oxford licensing officer PC Bill Denver said: " By adopting one card it should make licensees' jobs a lot easier." In another anti drink-driving scheme, members of a town's pubwatch are giving away free soft drinks to motorists. The licensees of 10 pubs and bars at the Waterfront in Brierley Hill, West Midlands, also plan to reserve car parking places for designated drivers who keep off alcoholic drinks. Pubwatch spokesman Dean Cartwright, of Bar Maya, said that provided there were three or more in a group, a nomi-nated driver would receive free soft drinks all night and have a designated parking spot at the complex. "We want to ensure that the Waterfront continues to be a safe place to eat, drink and enjoy an evening out. There are those customers that will always want to drive, so now they have an incentive to take it in turns behind the wheel," he said. It is the latest crime-busting initiative by licensees in the booming entertainment quarter, which has seen a 25% reduction in offences in the last eight months following the launch of the pubwatch scheme. Other initiatives include monthly meetings with bar and hotel management and security personnel, an alcohol-referral scheme, exclusion orders for offenders, a radio link extended to the police control room, licensed door supervisors, CCTV coverage, development of an intelligence system between licensees and police, and a safer glass scheme. Scam alert after theft Police are warning licensees and club owners in the West Midlands to be on their guard after a customer at a Coventry social club used a high-tech device to empty a fruit machine of cash. The man managed to steal more than £200 from one of the machines at the West Midlands Travel Social Club in the city's Stoney Stanton Road. He is believed to have used an electronic device, which is worn around the wrist and tricks the computer chip in the machine into paying out. Steward Richard Casey said he had noticed a man rubbing his wrist against the machine. "I knew there was something up but didn't know what. The machine was also making a funny sound while he was playing it," he said. The man became aggressive after claiming that the machine owed him £37 but fled when Mr Casey threatened to call the police. Police are now warning pub licensees and club managers to be aware of the scam. Police issue warning Police have warned licensees in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, that they are putting their licences at risk by allowing the serving of children. They are promising a crackdown after recent checks found there was a significant problem with under-age drinking in the town. In one check at a town-centre pub, officers found that three-quarters of the customers drinking there were under 18. The licensee of the pub, which is not being named, was warned and told he could face prosecution if it happened again. Police are now working with the Leamington Licensees Association, which represents 33 premises, to solve the problem. They have urged more of them to make use of identity card schemes. Sergeant Dave Williams said pubs that refused to clean up their act would face police applications for licence revocation. "We had a problem 12 months ago with some pubs but there are others that continue to turn a blind eye to the problem. "Violence in the town centre is invariably related to teenagers who cannot hold their drink and licensees need to stand firm on this. The old excuse about people looking older won't wash anymore," he said.
