THE INCREASING problem of under-age drinking in Fareham is being tackled by shocking parents into taking action.

Youngsters caught by police drinking alcohol in public places are having their details taken and letters sent to their parents telling where they were and what they were doing.

The idea is to involve parents in curbing the problem, which can lead to anti-social behaviour and can affect their schoolwork.

Police have also been tackling teenage drinking at the source of the alcohol, by conducting under-cover operations monitoring illegal sales at off-licences. They are now planning other ways of cracking down on persistent offenders.

Beat officers who find blackspots favoured by boozing youngsters are collecting bottles and other drinks containers and using them as evidence to find where they were bought.

Fareham Police Inspector Simon Wrig-glesworth said there has been an increase in the number of letters sent to parents of children caught drinking in the past few months.

He reported that in the summer 14 letters were sent to parents in Fareham and 16 to Parkgate parents. This rose to 22 letters for Fareham and 18 in Parkgate.

Insp Wrigglesworth said: "We're regularly checking the scale of under-age drinking in certain blackspots such as school grounds or parks and public areas out of the way.

"But we don't just confiscate the drink and tick the kids off. That's not good enough.

"We find out where the children come from and write letters to their parents. The parents certainly will not know where their offspring are or what they are doing, so we tell them.

"Children's behaviour and whereabouts, especially in these circumstances, is par-ental responsibility and we are trying to involve them in the process of tackling under-age drinking.

"We also try to find out where the drink is from and warn or prosecute the shops responsible.''

He said the increase could be due to extra police vigilance.

Fareham Borough Council said it was fighting under-age drinking by drawing up an identity card for youngsters to prove they are old enough to buy drink. The card is useful to shopkeepers and others who doubt a person's age.