Police will use tough new measures to clamp down on under-age drinking in Pembroke, Pembroke Dock and Tenby from Saturday. Following a successful initiative in Fishguard earlier this year, police will target licensees in the South Pembrokeshire towns. Similar schemes will run in Haverfordwest and Milford Haven early next year.

Under-age drinking is a problem on health grounds and can lead to crimes of vandalism and violence. But we are not out to harass young people, the aim is to educate, said Chief Inspector Roger Hughes. We want young people to enjoy themselves and be on licensed premises in a lawful way. Licensees in the town have been informed of the new laws and we have had a good response. Anyone who is unsure about anything can contact their division inspector.

Free proof of age cards - showing a date of birth and the date youngsters turn 16 and 18 - are available from schools. Teenagers over 16 and no longer in school can obtain a Validate UK card from their original school. The police are warning licensees not to serve anyone without a card if they have doubts about their age.

New laws mean the police can use youths to test purchase alcohol from licensed premises.

Where intelligence suggests a licensee is committing offences they will be specifically targeted and brought before the courts. A nightclub in Fishguard is now out of business after youths as young as 12 were found to be drinking strong cider and lager inside. Anyone serving a minor alcohol can now be fined - including doormen and unpaid staff - and it is now an offence for someone over 18 to purchase alcohol for a minor. And where a premises is causing a problem one night, an inspector can close it down for 24 hours. Police officers will also continue to be pro-active in confiscating alcohol from young people drinking in public and will investigate the source of the drink.

Despite the new measures, the police say underage drinking and drink related crime is on the decrease and the initiatives are aimed at seeing continued improvements. l The measures are not just aimed at licensees - the police have also urged parents to keep alcohol away from children. We have had several incidents lately where children as young as 11 are taking bottles of whiskey from their parents drinks cabinet and glugging them. The message is simple. Store alcohol like you would other intoxicants such as bleach - out of the reach of children, said police spokesman Dai Davies.