News

A poster designed by a Folkestone teenager will be going up in shops and clubs across the district warning people not to buy alcohol for youngsters.

The winning poster by 13-year-old Alex Barry from the Harvey Grammar School was entered in a competition organised by the Shepway Community Safety Unit. Alex was presented with a £100 HMV voucher.

Secondary schools and youth clubs from across the district had been invited to design a poster to highlight the problems of underage drinking and to drive home the message that buying alcoholic for under 18s is an offence.

The competition was judged by Cllr Hugh Barker, Shepway Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety; Jyotsna Leney, CSU Crime Reduction Manager and Eloise Hassall, from the Folkestone Area Partnership Against Crime (FAPAC).

“One of the key benefits of running the competition was to give young people the opportunity to think about the effects of alcohol consumption and to highlight that it is a criminal offence to buy alcohol for a young person,” said Cllr Barker.

“We had a large number of entries and it was obvious that a lot of thought had gone into this issue. The winning poster presented a very clear message to the public that alcohol should not be supplied to those under 18.”