EXMOUTH police are waging a war on underage drinkers and clamping down on youths seen drinking alcohol in public. The move is being driven by the police neighbourhood beat team who, last week, dealt with a number of underage youths who were found to be in possession of alcohol.

EXMOUTH police are waging a war on underage drinkers and clamping down on youths seen drinking alcohol in public.The move is being driven by the police neighbourhood beat team who, last week, dealt with a number of underage youths who were found to be in possession of alcohol.The police said, as well as tackling underage drinking, they will target the parents of youths caught breaking the law.They hope the latest campaign will be as successful as last year, when police closed in on underage drinkers. Exmouth police said the more recent cases had taken place in the seafront area of town, including Exmouth beach, Gunfield Gardens and Bath Road.Sergeant Phil Godfrey said the police would be tackling the problem using high visibility and covert officers.He said the parents of underage drinkers would be immediately contacted as soon as their children were spotted by police.Parents will be expected to collect their youths from the scene, or from the police station, said Sgt Godfrey.He said the police had also teamed up with Exmouth Community College to tackle underage drinking and protect youngsters' safety.Sgt Godfrey said: "We are seeing an increase in reports of under-age drinking and we will be taking positive action in dealing with this problem. "Although young people will be dealt with, we will be looking at the source of the alcohol. It's down to the parents to know where their children are."If they are caught again, we will look into the causes of why they are drinking alcohol."Young people are vulnerable and if they are getting drunk they are unable to look after themselves.