Youth booze offences drop

THE number of offences recorded for alcohol being supplied to under 18s has nearly halved in the Lothians, new figures have shown.

There were 78 offences recorded between last April and this March, including 50 by off-sales premises and seven bars.

The figure also includes 21 adults who bought drink for under-18s.

The figures, released in a parliamentary answer by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, represent a massive drop on the 134 offences recorded in 2008/9.

Meanwhile, statistics from 2008/9 showed that 27 prosecutions had come from the 97 offences of off-sales selling alcohol to youngsters.