Booze-buster on streets of Padiham

[Neal]

Police in Padiham will be the first to use a pioneering new booze busting kit to catch teenage drinkers.

The simple, test will enable officers to detect alcohol masked by soft drinks – the latest trick pulled by teen tipplers.

It is the brainchild of Padiham-based PC David Ward who scoured the Internet for a solution to the problems of underage drinkers consuming soft drinks eavily laced with alcohol.

PC Ward found an American company which makes alcohol testing kits and a UK distributor, as well as securing funding through Burnley Safer Neighbourhoods. The strips can be dipped into a sample of drink and within seconds show whether alcohol is present.

The kits are now being carried by community beat officers in Padiham, with a view to the scheme being extended across Burnley.

"We don't want to be seen as getting at young people, but alcohol leads to anti-social behaviour which will not be tolerated," said PC Ward.

This is not the first time Padiham police have led the way in tackling anti-social behaviour. Earlier this year, officers were issued with DNA swab kits to aid the detection and prevention of assaults involving spitting following a number of incidents in takeaways in the town.

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