Revellers in fancy dress and carnival mood to mark the start of an alcohol ban on public transport in London prompted the closure of Underground stations last night. Baker Street and Liverpool Street stations were closed repeatedly because of overcrowding and "customer incidents" and British Transport Police confirmed more than a dozen arrests before midnight, mainly for drunken behaviour. From today it is illegal to carry an open container of alcohol on the Tube, Docklands Light Railway and London's buses and trams. Transport officials believe the move could eventually lead to an alcohol ban across the UK rail network, although this is likely to be resisted by long-distance train operators, who supplement revenue with drinks sales. Facebook groups dedicated to the party, which transport unions had condemned, included "One Final Tube Booze Party" and "Let's Get Hammered on Tube Day". - Sunday Times
Parents who give their children alcohol risk being hit with court orders under a new government clampdown on teenagers drinking in public. The move follows research showing more than half of underage drinkers get their supplies from home, while 11- to 14-year-olds, who are unlikely to be served in pubs or shops are now drinking double the number of units they did in 1990. Parents of persistent offenders will face interventions from courts and social workers to improve their parenting skills, while police powers to disperse groups of teenagers in public parks and on street corners will be extended to children as young as 10. Although fewer children drink than in the 1980s, those that do appear to be starting younger and drinking harder. - Observer
A pub may be forced to tear down a £90,000 TV makeover after councillors, acting after seeing solar panels and energy efficient windows installed at the Tan Hill Inn in an advert for double glazing firm Everest, ruled the work illegal. Everest hadn't sought planning permission before carrying out the work at the North Yorks pub, the highest in England at 1,732ft. Landlady Tracy Daly, 42, said: "It's stupid. I thought the council would want us to do our bit for the environment but they seem more interested in paperwork." Richmondshire council said: "It is our job to make sure rules are followed." - Sunday People
Rumours persist that brewing giant InBev is preparing to approach August A. Busch IV directly with a buyout proposal expected to be worth more than $45bn (£22.5bn). 'The Fourth', as he is known in the industry, is loathe to go down in history as the founding family member who let the last large-scale American-owned and operated brewery fall into foreign hands. - Scotland On Sunday
Friends of artist Beryl Cook are planning a wake at the pub that inspired so many of her works. Cook, who died aged 81 last Wednesday, was a regular at the Dolphin on Plymouth's Barbican. The pub's characters were the subject of many of her paintings, several of which line its walls. - Sunday Mirror