New bid to thwart illegal drinking

The operation, planned for Northallerton, is aiming to halt a rise in youngsters getting adults to buy them alcohol after a campaign launched in North Yorkshire earlier this year meant many were no longer able to get served in off-licences and pubs.

It has been discovered teenagers are turning to increasingly ingenious ways of getting hold of alcohol, using mobile phones to text orders to adults, who then head to off licences and supermarkets to buy the drink.

Now the blitz on illegal sales of alcohol is being stepped up by North Yorkshire Police and the County Council in the run up to Christmas.

Coun Claire Wood, North Yorkshire County Council executive member for trading standards, said: "The undercover operations will target adults who knowingly supply drink to teenagers below the legal age.

"People who buy alcohol on behalf of young people need to know that they are committing a serious offence."