Kids as young as 10 are drinking in Derry

The level of underage drinking in Derry has grown to an alarming extent over the past 20 years, a local police officer has said.

Neighbourhood Policing Team PSNI Constable Neville Martin said children as young as 10 or 11 are now latching on to slightly older groups of teenagers and starting to drink with them.

Mr Martin said that this was largely a consequence of the growth in social media which had resulted in a situation whereby ‘everybody knows everybody’.

He was speaking as he joined a panel of addiction and youth diversion experts, and political and community representatives to answer questions from secondary school students from across the city.

The ‘Under 18 Drinking, What Can We Do?’ event was hosted by St Joseph’s Boys School Council at their lecture hall in Creggan.

During the event, parents allowing teenagers to drink sensibly at home was mooted as one of the possible ways of combating out of control binge drinking on the streets of Derry, while it was stated that young people were using their Education Maintenance Allowance to buy carry-outs at weekends instead of for bus fares and lunches.

Speaking from the floor, one youth said that part of the problem was a major lack of role models locally for young people, claiming some of the city’s sporting figures were actually setting bad examples because of their own behaviour.

The idea of a youth quarter in Derry, where young people could go for recreation and events, was discussed at the event.

Pictured above are some of those who took part in the conference.