Cheap booze to blame for drunk children; letters.

HOW right George Tyndale is about the scandal of drunken children.

It's time to stop this. The costs to the NHS and society are completely out of hand.

At one time adults who wanted a drink either went into the local pub or to the off-licence if they wanted to take alcohol home to drink.

Under-18s were strictly not allowed.

There were no other options and no cheap drink.

Prices were set by the breweries - and that was it.

I think it's time to put alcohol back in the pubs and off-licences where it belongs, and hopefully help our publicans as well.

It is difficult to make parents take responsibility for their children these days, but at least if the booze was harder to get it would surely help the situation. Publicans in charge of the off-licences would care about keeping their licences to sell alcohol because this would be their only source of income and so would be careful about who was buying it.

As things stand, the corner shops and supermarkets aren't all that bothered as long as they make sales. I'm not saying this would totally solve the problem, but I think it would be a step towards it.

WENDY HAWKINS, by e-mail