Wantage youth club Sweatbox to bring in a breathalyser to deal with drink problems (From The Oxford Times)

Wantage youth club Sweatbox to bring in a breathalyser to deal with drink problems

7:00am Wednesday 17th February 2010

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A YOUTH club will breathalyse teenagers at the door in a bid to combat drink problems.

Leaders at the Sweatbox youth club, Wantage, are taking the step after they said children as young as 12 were turning up “absolutely bladdered”.

Garry Kingett said ambulances had to be called every month to pick up drunk youngsters from the club at King Alfred’s Community and Sports College, in Springfield Road.

In December, the club was closed by organisers because of the problems.

Now Mr Kingett has decided on a crackdown for the centre’s weekly Friday night event, Sweaty, which is to be relaunched on February 26.

He said: “I will be using the breathalyser to stop young people who have been drinking from coming into the club. We could not operate safely dealing with the amount of young people abusing alcohol.

“They would get drunk off their trolley and come here on a Friday night. If they got comatose, their friends would dump them outside and clear off, and we would have to call the paramedics.

“The drink culture is the going rate nowadays. Kids aim to get absolutely bladdered and out of their tree.

“That is not what the Sweatbox is about. We do not want kids who have been drinking to make their way here and we want it to be a safe and peaceful place.”

Other measures designed to crack down on alcohol will include random bag searches and a no readmissions policy.

It is the first time breath tests have been introduced at an Oxfordshire youth club, but venues in Kettering and Corby use the system.

Mr Kingett said breathalyser tests would be random and take place in a separate room as teenagers arrived at the club.

He said: “If a young person fails the test, we will record the incident and then telephone their parents to let them know what their child has been up to.

“Then they will be turned away. Of course, if we have concerns over their health and safety — for example if they drank so much they were falling over — we will try to keep them at the club until their parents arrive.”

Mr Kingett decided to close the venue in December after consultation with the Sweatbox Union, the club’s youth council.

Residents in Springfield Road welcomed the decision to breathalyse youngsters.

Neighbour Lyn Westwood said: “I live opposite the Sweatbox and there seems to be a bit of an epidemic of drinking, particularly at that young age. The teenagers need to go somewhere, but not if they will treat it as a pub, and I welcome this crackdown on alcohol.”

Another resident said: “I think breathalysing the teenagers is sensible. They cannot be seen to allow alcohol to be drunk and if it cuts down on the noise, then it’s a good idea.”

About 200 youngsters visit the club each week.

Mr Kingett said there was a problem in the town with girls as young as 12 dressing provocatively and paying older boys to buy them alcohol.

Police inspector Ian Money said: “Antisocial behaviour and underage drinking is something we are very keen to tackle, and the two often go hand in hand.

“Any initiative that increases awareness and helps to educate young people about the dangers of alcohol will always get our support.”

A free bus will run to the club from Grove, from outside the Q8 garage, in Main Street, at 7.30pm, Tesco Express, in Millbrook Square at 7.40pm, and Brereton Drive, opposite Membury Way, at 7.50pm. It will return from the Sweatbox at 10.30pm.

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