Boozed-up boy, ten, is given drink counselling

A PRIMARY school pupil has received counselling for alcohol abuse after being picked up by police on the streets of Edinburgh.

The ten-year-old was found during an operation to target underage drinking in the south of the city.

The child was the youngest of 59 underage drinkers who were referred for specialist counselling from the NCH children's charity, which runs Help for Young People in Edinburgh (Hype).

Alcohol abuse among youths has been a major problem in some parts of south Edinburgh for years, but the referral of such a young child has shocked the local community.

The statistics from the pilot scheme were released to the city council's neighbourhood partnership for Liberton and Gilmerton.

Local councillor Ian Murray said today: "The referral system has been hugely successful, and it's good that the police are doing something about this.

"But a ten-year-old (being referred] is utterly extraordinary – this child will have gone to alcohol counselling, which is severe.

"It's a worry for everyone, but these are the extreme cases. There is still an issue with underage drinking in south Edinburgh. The vast majority of youngsters who drink get their alcohol from off-licences, get someone to buy them it, or get it from their parents."

Most of the children referred for counselling during the project, which ran from July to December last year, were aged 15 or 16.

The project has been hailed a success, and the referral initiative will continue, while training on alcohol abuse will also be offered to local schoolteachers.

Separate crackdowns also included high visibility police patrols and the deployment of CCTV vans. A total of 350 litres was seized from teenagers by officers in the space of two months.

Earlier this month, the Evening News revealed that 11 Lothian children aged 12 and under had to spend at least one night in hospital due to drinking alcohol in the year to last April.

Those figures were described as "chilling", while experts warned that children who start drinking so young run the risk of developing serious problems in adolescence.

Edinburgh's outgoing drugs and alcohol tsar, Tom Wood, a former Lothian and Borders deputy chief constable, said the scheme was an "interesting experiment", which avoids "criminalising" youngsters.

"The number of 15 or 16-year-olds referred is not unusual, but it's very exceptional to refer a ten-year-old," he said.

"Normally, it's from the age of 13 onwards. This problem has been around for some time, but we are now prioritising it."

A police spokesman added: "This pilot scheme in partnership with Hype has resulted in a number of referrals, and has given those young people the chance to address their behaviour."