Country faces a crisis of drink and violence, MPs told

Teenagers are downing alcohol as if it is fizzy pop as incidents of drink-fuelled violence and rape soar, a chief constable told MPs yesterday.

Stephen Otter, head of Devon and Cornwall police, painted a desperate picture of the heavy drinking culture scarring Britain.

He said parents routinely turn a blind eye to underage drinking - and even send youngsters away on holiday laden with alcohol.

And he warned that the number of rapes related to alcohol is on the rise, and alcohol was a factor in nearly half of violent crime last year.

This compares to only a third of violent attacks in 2004-5, the year before Labour allowed pubs and clubs to open 24 hours.

Mr Otter told MPs: "Drink is meant to be licensed. It doesn't feel like that to us. It's just as readily available as a glass of Coca-Cola."

Brewers - who now package alcopops in water-style bottles with flip tops  -  pubs, and parents all came under attack from the chief constable, who said licensing laws had failed to respond to the change in drinking culture.

He said drunkenness was becoming "more prevalent" among the young, particularly women.

And there were "worrying trends" of an increase in sexual crime, particularly rape, where one or both parties were drunk.

His comments come in the wake of the violence and vandalism on the London Underground on Saturday night as hundreds of revellers held a mass "drink-in" in the hours before Mayor Boris Johnson's ban on alcohol on public transport came into force.

Mr Otter told Westminster's home affairs committee: "There is a change in drinking culture. People are willing to drink more and it could be in relation to price.

"Also, something about the nature of the drinks is changing, resulting in more young people drinking stronger drinks.

"A lot of alcopops are served in what look like water bottles with pop-up tops. They are coloured bright blue and purple. Not drinks, in our view, that are designed for a 45-year-old couple's dinner table."

He said many drinks were now targeted at young women who, in the past, had only a choice of "fairly rough wine" or a sweet or soft drink.

"Now it has vodka in it, and other additives such as caffeine."

Revellers on the Tube at the weekend: Others were less well behaved

This had the effect of allowing women to drink more, and for longer - with an average nightly consumption for a young woman now standing at eight vodka and Red Bull energy drinks, which are high in caffeine.

He attacked wealthy parents who gave their underage offspring a lift to beaches in Newquay, Rock and Polzeath fully aware of what would take place.

The holiday spots are notorious for attracting public school teenagers in the summer who cause havoc with wild parties.

Mr Otter said: 'Parents drop them off knowing they are going to be drinking a large amount and be vulnerable to other crime, particularly sexual activity.

"We have to do something about the parents' understanding of the danger their children are in."

In 2004-5, 33 per cent of violent offences in Devon and Cornwall were drink-related, but this rose to 46.8 per cent in 2007-8, or 3,261 crimes, he said.

"We are definitely seeing an increase in sexual crime, particularly rape, where both parties are drunk or there is an alcohol-related part of the incident," he added.

The timescale correlates with Labour's decision to introduce round-the-clock opening in November 2005.

Mr Otter said of the rise in violence: "That is a significant increase."

The chief constable said that in the past peer pressure on youngsters had centred on taking drugs. Now it was to go out and drink to excess.

"An evening of enjoyment is related to drink," he said.

He also attacked "vertical drinking" pubs, which have few seats and encourage customers to drink more quickly.

Chief Constable Otter said drunkeness was becoming 'more prevalent' among the young, particularly women

And on parents, he added: "Young people are sent on holiday with liquor given to them by parents or at the very least parents have turned a blind eye to their liquor cabinet being raided."

The figures on violence add to mounting evidence that Labour's licensing reforms have backfired.

Last week, the Daily Mail revealed that almost a third of vicious woundings now take place in or around pubs and clubs.

The figure of 29 per cent was the equivalent to 167,620 people - or 460 every day - being wounded while out for a day or night's drinking in 2006-7.

In March, ministers admitted that there is 25 per cent more serious violence in the early hours of the morning - and that a reduction in alcohol-fuelled disorder promised when the licensing laws were relaxed has not materialised.