Alcohol warning for GCSE revellers

EMERGENCY services today warned students receiving their GCSE results on Thursday to celebrate or commiserate sensibly.

Police have said they will take alcohol off any youngsters caught drinking around Ipswich in a bid to cut the number of pupils getting into difficulties.

Ambulance crews are also bracing themselves for the traditional increase in alcohol-related call-outs they receive during this time of the year.

A spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance Service said: "We do notice an increase in alcohol related incidents around this time of the year and would ask people to act sensibly after receiving their results."

Posters have been prepared to be displayed next to results boards and teachers and school staff are being encouraged to give pupils leaflets reminding them not to over do it.

Ipswich Borough Council will be issuing Nightsafe "Have Fun, Stay Safe" wristbands around the schools to heighten awareness.

Off licences, pubs and clubs have been reminded GCSE results day is looming and to expect to see more underage teenagers attempting to buy alcohol or enter licensed premises around this time.

Superintendent Tim Beach, of Suffolk police, said: "The day GCSE results come out is a day we want young people and their parents to enjoy.

"But not a day when young people celebrate by drinking alcohol, where there is a real chance they will cause harm to themselves or those around them.

"Police and community support officers will be paying extra attention in particular areas where youths are known to hang around and any alcohol will be seized and disposed of."

He added the crackdown is being carried out along with Ipswich and Babergh councils, using closed circuit television cameras.

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