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