'Pub trade faces 4,000 closures'

More than 4,000 pubs will go out of business in the next two years as beer sales fall and higher bills crush profits, according to insolvency specialists at PwC. Sixty-four pub businesses went bust in the third quarter - more than double the number in the same period last year and nearly triple the number in 2006 - The Financial Times​

Beer sales in pubs may be in steep decline, but real ale, once seen as the preserve of the sandal-wearing brigade, is on the up. According to the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), sales of locally produced beers bucked the trend with a rise of eight per cent in the first half of the year - The Times​

Buckfast bosses last night demanded talks with Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill over his "cheap pops" at their tonic wine. Distributor J Chandler and Co say the high-strength tipple - which has been linked to a string of violent crimes - is being picked on by politicians in their war on booze-fuelled anti-social behaviour. Mr MacAskill singled out Buckfast at a Parliament debate on teenage drinkers - The Sun​

Almost 42,000 pupils have been sent home for alcohol or drug-related reasons in the past four years, it emerged yesterday. Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats also revealed half a million under-18s said they had been able to buy alcohol in bars. And 47 per cent of youngsters who drank regularly admitted committing criminal offences - The Sun​

Hundreds of clubbers and pub-goers were tested for drugs on their way into city centre premises at the weekend. With 753 people screened using a pioneering drug detection device, 13 people were searched and two will be reported to the procurator-fiscal for possession of drugs. The portable machine, known as the Itemiser, was deployed in Aberdeen - the first to use it in Scotland. The Itemiser, which can detect the presence of drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, heroin and ecstasy, was used outside nine pubs and nightclubs - The Herald​