POLICE today declared their message on underage drinking in Edinburgh was getting across after a crackdown on two dozen pubs and clubs.

A team of 24 officers were deployed in the city centre at the weekend looking for underage drinkers using fake IDs to fool door and bar staff.

However, the visits drew a blank after police issued a warning to bouncers and urged them to stick to the city's "Challenge 21" policy.

The visits were carried out in shifts at 24 premises between 8pm and 3am on Saturday and Sunday, with officers asking for ID from anyone who seemed potentially underage.

Pc Mark Pickavance, who tackles alcohol-related crime in the city centre, said: "We believe that the door stewards were more strict in enforcing Challenge 21 and that is the message we want to get across.

"They may well have turned away people who, on other occasions when they were being more lax, would've been allowed in.

"Instead officers did not find anyone underage and that is how it should me. Police and licensees are working together to ensure that's the case in the future too.

"They can slip through, but it's just a matter of being vigilant."

Last Sunday, four teenagers – two girls and two boys – were caught by bouncers trying to gain entry to Lava & Ignite in Tollcross with a passport or driving license belonging to an older sibling.

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