Lager louts spread to the piste

YOUNG skiers are just as likely to get drunk and fall foul of the law as the UK's notorious summer holiday hooligans, new research has revealed.

The bad behaviour of Britons in Spain and Greece has been well-documented, but a study carried out for the Foreign Office shows that young visitors to ski resorts with an upmarket image are increasingly prone to binge drinking and bad behaviour.

The survey found that one-third of young skiers drink so much that they end up being injured, fined or even thrown out of their resort.

Some 36 per cent of 18-year-olds who take winter breaks find alcohol turns a dream holiday into a nightmare.

Of that figure, one-third injured themselves, more than two-thirds were fined for causing damage and more than half were asked to leave their resorts.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "Many don't realise the dangers of drinking on the piste. If you injure yourself under the influence of alcohol, it is very likely your insurance policy will be invalid."

Paul Morgan, of travel agents Thomas Cook in Edinburgh, said that the traditional middle-class image of skiing holidays had broken down in the past decade or so. He said this was mostly due to trendy winter sports such as snowboarding, which appealed to the younger market.

Mr Morgan added: "We are seeing that for anyone who is going on a ski holiday, the aprs-ski is just as important as the winter sports themselves."