Training pubs for teenagers

A pub could be opened in West Lancashire for under 18s as part of plans to tackle underage drinking in the district.

After months of research, surveys, consultation with teenagers and an alcohol conference, an action plan has been put together which aims to educate youngsters to drink sensibly in a traditional pub setting.

The council said the non-alcoholic pub would be a pilot initiative and would work in consultation with breweries. They added that they may take over the running of a pub on a trail basis.

The idea met with approval among local licensees. Joe Kelly, from Ormskirk’s The Greyhound said: “It is an excellent idea and somewhere for the kids. They used to have youth clubs, which have died a death.

“Ideas like this have got to be tried or we will never know if they work. Supermarket ale is so cheap and there is no control of it”.