The nuisance caused by drunken youngsters in Rishton and Great Harwood, where residents' complaints have triggered a police crackdown against under-age drinking, is an all-too-familiar problem in many other East Lancashire communities.

But as police urge parents to take responsibility for their children's actions and to make sure they know where they are at night, it is disturbing to find that efforts to curb the trouble caused by teenage drunks are being undermined by the sheer irresponsibility of older people buying them drink.

The police are quite right to stress to parents their duty of knowing what their children are up to and what sort of company they are keeping.

But it is often easier said than done..

And the difficulties of parents have in protecting their children from harmful and anti-social peer-group pressures can also be considerable.

Similarly, owners and employees of off-licence premises often have a problem in determining the age of young customers. What has to be asked of them is a policy of always erring on the side of caution.

Yet, even when, in spite of the difficulties, these conditions are met and, as in this new clampdown, some success is achieved as a result, it is bound to be frustrating for police, residents and off-licence operators when they find the initiative is weakened through youngsters still managing to get alcohol by asking older people to buy it for them.

In such cases, off-licences must always have their suspicions on high alert.

But in every case resulting in a conviction the courts must also be fully alert to their responsibiity to deter and issue the severest punishment.

For if drunken juvenile nuisance needs to be met with retribution, even more so does the irresponsible encouragement of it by those old enough to know better.