POLICE are warning of a crackdown on under-age drinking in town centre nightspots after 10 per cent of clubbers were found to be below 18 during a weekend raid.

Favourite Leigh haunt, Toffs, has been under police investigation, with undercover officers collecting evidence, for a number of weeks.

On Friday night 29 officers and a sniffer-dog raided the West Bridgewater Street premises. As a result 10 under-age youths were reported for possession of alcohol and will be brought to Leigh Police Station with their parents at a later date to be cautioned or summoned to appear in court.

Checked for validity

A further 40 names and addresses were taken, and checked for validity at the station. All those under-age were immediately ejected from the building.

Sergeant David Waddicar of Leigh Police said: "Nobody was arrested and only 10 youths were reported, as the others must have put their drinks down when police arrived. The club was described by a colleague as a 'kiddies disco' and some were found to be as young as 15. However, it was also described as being very professionally run."

Dave Rowlands has owned Toffs for almost four years and says this is the first raid he has seen: "I think Police were looking for drugs, but myself and my doormen have a very strict no-drugs policy so they didn't find any. There were 440 people in that night -- if 10 per cent were under-age, 90 per cent were over 18."

He considers himself a realistic person and explained his entrance policy as being: "If they don't look 18 they don't get in. But it's getting harder to tell who is and isn't old enough - especially the girls. Asking everyone for ID would take all day. A driving licence is the perfect form of ID."

Dave believes it is Leigh as a whole that has a problem rather than Toffs itself. "Someone can be married and have children at 16, but where can they go to relax? There isn't a cinema or bowling alley in Leigh, which leaves 1000 17-year-olds with nowhere to go. If they're in Toffs at least they aren't causing trouble on the streets and here they are secured by bar staff and doormen."

The club also has a system where anyone who is too drunk or is found to be under-age is provided with a free taxi home. This has proved a success with Dave receiving letters of thanks from grateful parents.

After the licensee has been reported it is unsure what will happen to Toffs, but Dave doesn't believe he can be anymore vigilant than he is currently is.

"The worst that could happen is we could be closed down, but if we are where will all the 18 and 19-year-olds go - everywhere else is over 21s."

Sergeant Waddicar suggested ways in which landlords could be more vigilant: "The onus is on them. They should ask for ID and if they are unsure if someone is old enough, they should refuse entry. I agree that 17-year-old girls can be difficult to identify, but with 15-year-olds it isn't just their age, it's also the way they behave. Acceptable forms of ID, such as AGE cards, are easy to obtain and those who look younger than their age should carry some."

He also warned: "Police are planning more raids on other premises in the area, so landlords should be on their guard."