Parents warned not to give children alcohol

Girls as young as 12 have been found “slumped and unresponsive” in streets and parks by wardens, police in the Forth Valley area said.

It is leaving them exposed to crime as they are often unaware of their surroundings and officers are calling on parents to be aware of the amounts of alcohol their children are consuming.

In one incident, a 15-year-old girl was sick and collapsed in a park in Falkirk while drinking alcohol. She had to be treated by paramedics.

Elsewhere, a 12-year-old girl was found unresponsive in a Clackmannanshire street by community wardens and had to be taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

Officers said they have carried out test purchases and surveillance on several licensed premises in the area but found no evidence of sales to underage teenagers.

Chief Superintendent Davie Flynn said: “This isn’t about young people drinking a small amount of alcohol socially - it is about them drinking so much to excess that they are unable to look after themselves and putting themselves at risk.

“It may well be done by parents with the best of intentions of teaching their children responsible drinking by giving them a couple of bottles of beer or alcopops for a party.

“But what some parents are failing to realise is that by the time their children get to the party, these bottles have multiplied by everyone else adding to the available alcohol and there can be rogue bottles of vodka and whisky added to it.

“Parents may think they are doing the right thing but Scotland’s relationship with alcohol is such that some young people think they have to go out and get so drunk they can’t look after themselves.”

Mr Flynn asked parents to report any incidents of underage drinking to police.

Elaine Lawlor, Forth Valley alcohol and drug co-ordinator, said: “There is a very good reason why it states 18 on the label of alcohol bottles, the same amount of alcohol will have a much greater effect on the body of a child or young person than on an adult, because their bodies are still growing and developing.

“Young people do not have the experience needed to deal with the effects of alcohol on judgement and perception.”