40,000 child alcohol crimes in five years

Shocking stats that nearly 40,000 children have been fined, cautioned, or taken to court for alcohol-related offences in the last five years.
That's nearly one every hour!

The number has increased by over a quarter in that period, according to research by the Lib Dems.
The key points are:
* 39,714 children aged under 18 were fined, cautioned or taken to court for alcohol related offences between 2003 and 2007
* This includes 124 children aged 10-12 and 6,111 aged 13-15
* The number of under-18s fined, cautioned or taken to court for alcohol related offences has increased by 28%, 8,686 in 2007

Lib Dem Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said that this is a "shocking picture of how many children are being dragged into the criminal justice system through alcohol abuse".

As I have said before on this blog, we must stop alcohol being sold at pocket-money prices and start educating our children about the dangers of drink or these figures will continue to worsen.

Unless we change our drinking culture, we will condemn many of these children and adolescents to serious long-term alcohol-related illnesses or a life of crime.