Boy, 9, 'forced to drink vodka'

A boy spent his ninth birthday recovering after a gang of thugs apparently forced him to drink a bottle of vodka. John Gunning, of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, was playing in a park when he was accosted, his mother, Sandra, 35, said. A girl held him and forced him to drink the vodka, after which he was 'swung around . . . for a bit of fun'.