Crackdown on teen drinks prees

July 1997

TEENAGE TIPPLERS are being targeted in a Garda clampdown on teenage drinking in Wicklow town.

Officers caught and cautioned 36 youngsters aged 15 to 17 at outdoor drinking spots along the sea front and the Murrough areas over the last three weekends.

They say they will keep the pressure on until they have made all the traditional blackspots no-go areas for the young boozers and the drink parties they attend.

The drinking parties are also putting off other members of the public from using the Murrough for outdoor activities.

They also plan to put the squeeze on legitimate drinkers who help teenagers beat the law by duping publicans and buying drink on behalf of people under-age.

The garda will use information collected from youngsters who were all quizzed on the source of the alcohol they were caught drinking. The youngsters will not get of lightly either.

During the last three weekend purges, officers informed the youths that those caught drinking a second time would be prosecuted rather than just receiving a warning.