Parents permit drunk children

Police have called for a "national debate" over parental responsibility after saying that seven out of 10 underage children caught drinking in Newquay this summer were given the alcohol by their parents.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the drunk and disorderly teenagers had brought the alcohol from home, rather than buying it in local shops.

Many of them were aged 15 or 16, and allowed to go to Cornwall with friends to celebrate the end of the GCSEs. Though some parents were shocked when they found out their children had been behaving badly, others abused officers who confiscated the drink.