Fine threat after 350 IDs seized

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People who knowingly lend under-age drinkers driving licences or passports so they can enter pubs in Swansea are being warned they face being fined.

Over 350 borrowed or stolen documents have been seized from under 18s in the city centre in the past three months.

The Safer Swansea Partnership is now working with the DVLA to come up with a way of fining those who loan their IDs.

The idea is they would have to pay a fine when they go to retrieve their documents from a police station.

The exact details of how the scheme will work are still being ironed out.

A total of 356 IDs have been taken from teenagers trying to gain entry to city centre pubs and clubs since mid-September.

A large number of the IDs we are seizing are ones that have been lent to under-18s Steve Williams

Community Safety Sergeant Dean Evans said it was "an increasing problem."

"To combat the problem and deter licence and passport holders from letting others use their ID fraudulently, we are looking to introduce a fine system whereby the legitimate owners of a seized ID will be fined when they retrieve their ID from the police."

He said police would continue to arrest people for offences in relation to altering ID documents, theft of documents and fraudulent use of ID.

"Parents or guardians will have to accompany the person at a police station for questioning," he added.

Evening economy coordinator Steve Williams said some were fake IDs and some were stolen.

Vigilance

"But a large number of the IDs we are seizing are ones that have been lent to under-18s," he said.

"This will not be tolerated in Swansea and is being taken very seriously.

"We will continue our multi-agency operations in 2010 with the intention of stamping out under-age drinking in city centre venues.

"We have been very impressed with the vigilance of city centre door staff.

"They will continue to carefully check ID and refuse entry to people who cannot prove their age.

"They will also work closely with the police and call on officers to remove under-18s from queues or inside venues.

"Parents and guardians will be requested to collect their teenagers from the city centre."