Pubs blitz 'boosts bingeing'

Published on Thursday 11 March 2010 20:29

A CRACKDOWN on under-age drinkers in pubs could be adding to the problem of binge-drinking among young people, Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin has claimed.

The pub chain boss said heavy penalties for serving young people aged 16 and 17 were "unfair" and added to the rising pressure on landlords, which was forcing many pubs to close.

"The crackdown may actually exacerbate the problems of binge-drinking, since it has resulted in more drinking, especially by young people, in the unsupervised environments of parties, streets and parks," he said.

He also labelled as "absurd" a new police tactic of employing young people under the age of 18 to attempt to buy alcoholic drinks in pubs.

He said: "This sort of entrapment is prohibited in most areas of the law."