CONCERNS have been raised about the scale of underage drinking across the north as figures reveal police are confiscating alcohol from children at a rate of more than one bottle or can every hour.
Figures obtained by The Irish News show alcohol has been seized from minors more than 7,000 times in the past four years - more than 34,000 bottles and cans.
In one incident police took 30 bottles of cider from a 10-year-old boy.
Parts of south and west Belfast - including upper Grosvenor Road - as well as counties Down and Tyrone have emerged as some of the worst hotspots.
Overall more than 16,000 bottles and cans of beer, 7,400 ciders, 5,400 alcopops and 1,700 bottles of wine have been seized from children since 2011.
Among those who had alcohol confiscated were three 10-year-olds, two children aged 11 and five 12-year-olds.
Concerns about the scale of underage drinking have been highlighted in the past 12 months.
High-profile incidents included one in which young people were hospitalised after a mass drinking binge saw more than 100 young concert-goers at the Odyssey treated by medics in Belfast.
DUP health minister Jim Wells announced plans last month to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol to tackle the "staggering" harm caused by excessive consumption.
Suzanne Costello, chief executive of Alcohol Action Ireland, said the figures relating to underage drinkers were a "cause for great concern" and a "stark reflection of our attitudes to and problems with alcohol throughout society".
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