BURY police have invested £1,000 in a campaign to ensure teenagers play their cards right.

The money, drawn from Greater Manchester Police's Shrievalty Trust, will help to stamp out under-age drinking and smoking in the new Millennium.

By the year 2000, 16-year-olds in the borough will have new "Proof of Age" cards in a pioneering scheme designed at reducing the amount of alcohol and tobacco sold to youngsters.

Retailers will be asked to operate a strict "No card, no sale" policy, and if the £8,000 pilot programme is successful, then the entire Greater Manchester county could adopt the idea. Run in conjunction with Bury's Responsible Retailer Award initiative which rewards shopkeepers who are vigilant in not selling tobacco to under 16s, the "Proof of Age" card will cover a wide range of age-restricted sales.

It will cover alcohol, fireworks, solvents and Lottery scratch cards, as well as cigarettes.

Trading Standards officers will oversee the scheme and also approach the borough's headteachers for support.

Cards will be distributed to school pupils in year 11, as they reach their 16th birthday, from September this year.

Bury Council's public protection chairman, Councillor Mike Connolly said: "This excellent new multi-agency initiative is intended to reduce the often harmful consequences associated with the use of goods such as alcohol, tobacco and fireworks by young people by controlling their availability."

Chief Inspector David Bleackley of Bury police said: "Traders are the key to his project and everyone must play a part in the No Card, No Sale system to ensure the scheme's success."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.