PC Lawrence Copeland and pcso Richard Lane with alcohol confiscated from under age drinkers at the Link fair.

GALLONS of drink were seized from boozed-up teenagers looking for a good time at the West Swindon funfair.

Police set up a high-profile operation to tackle knives and underage drinking during the two weekends the fair was on at the Link Centre.

Officers were patrolling the entrance to the fair with metal detectors to stop anyone taking bladed weapons into the family event.

Sgt Conway Duncan, in charge of policing at the fair, said although knife-wielding thugs stayed away, a lot of youngsters tried to sneak in with illicit liquor.

"We did seize a whole lot of alcohol and it all came from underage drinkers," said Sgt Duncan.

"On the first Friday night we got word of a big party in Lydiard Park, where a group of kids were planning on drinking then going down to the fair afterwards. We managed to break that up.

"Then last weekend we found quite a bit more around the fair. Overall the fair went pretty well. We didn't have any dangerous incidents.

"The message we want to send to parents is: Do you know what your children are doing at the weekend?

"We visited four parents about alcohol and there are another few still to be spoken to."

Sgt Duncan said that although officers were pleased people had left weapons at home, the quiet fair could have been down to fewer visitors.

"I definitely think there were a lot fewer people there this year than six months ago," he said.

"That could be a combination of economic factors as well as troublemakers hearing the warnings that bad behaviour would not be tolerated."

Sgt Duncan explained that the police could only scan people if they had reasonable suspicion of them committing a crime.

"We are using them as a preventative measure," he said.

"It's a visible option for us to police with.

"Knife crime is making headlines across the country and we want to keep it limited in Swindon.

"If it proves to be effective then it is something we'll look at using more frequently as a future deterrent."

Westlea PSCO Richard Lane said: "We can use these detectors proactively. It's a new and different experience, but it's an extra safety precaution to help us patrol the area."

The scanners beep or vibrate telling police if they find anything made from metal.

9:49am Wednesday 16th April 2008

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