Pubs main target in underage sales fight

Fifty times as many instant fines were issued to bar

and shop staff for serving under-18s than to children for drinking underage in 2005, new Government

figures reveal.

The figures show the extent to which pubs are being

targeted while police are reluctant to prosecute children who attempt to buy alcohol.

A total of 2,058 penalty notices, which involve fines of £50 or £80, were issued for selling alcohol to under-18s during 2005. The projected figure for 2006 is 3,124.

In contrast, figures revealed by the Home Office last year found that just 41

children received instant fines for underage drinking on licensed premises in 2005.

British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) director of communications Mark Hastings said: "There are two crimes here: one is the sale to a minor, the other is the

purchase by a minor.

"We have argued consistently with Government that we would like to see [penalty notices against] both enforced with the same rigour."

Bar Entertainment and Dance Association (BEDA) executive director Paul Smith said: "It's slanted to one side. If the police are not going to focus on people buying the

alcohol as well as selling it, we will never get a system that works."

The latest figures were uncovered by Conservative shadow Home Office minister James Brokenshire after asking Parliamentary questions on the use of penalty notices for disorder since they were introduced in 2004.

lPubs face postcode

lottery on underage sales, p9

too Few penalities still being issued to drunks

Police are still shying away from issuing penalty notices for selling alcohol to drunk people, the latest figures show.

Just 46 penalty notices were issued for the sale of alcohol to a drunken person in 2006, according to projections from the Home Office. The figure for 2005 was 32.

Bar Entertainment and Dance Association (BEDA) executive director Paul Smith said the reason could be the result of difficulty in defining when someone is drunk.

The number of penalty notices issued for drunk and disorderly behaviour in 2006 compared to 2005 increased from 37,038 to 39,834 - a rise of 8%.

Tory MP James Brokenshire criticised penalty notices for failing to deter troublemakers from causing offences.

However, National Pubwatch honorary secretary and former police officer Malcolm Eidmans suggested that many drunken troublemakers who get instant fines would have got away with a caution before the penalties were introduced.

Both Eidmans and Brokenshire questioned how many fines for penalty notices are actually paid.