Cash boost to tackle booze issue

MORE cash has been pledged to boost the fight against underage drinking in West Lothian.

West Lothian Council will spend an extra £64,600 in 2012/13 on projects aimed at tackling the issue, bringing the total to £300,000.

A midnight football scheme will receive an extra £37,000, while a summer project will be backed with an extra £18,000.

John McGinty, leader of West Lothian Council, said complaints of underage drinking had been falling across West Lothian for three years.

Figures released by the council suggest the problem is worst in the Whitburn and Blackburn ward. More than 18 per cent of reports of underage drinking were made there, despite just 12.7 per cent of West Lothian’s ten to 19-year-olds living there.

Councillor McGinty, said: “We are trying to address the issue through providing funding for diversionary activities which are both engaging and educational.”