FOUR out of six pubs in Didcot and Wallingford served alcohol to under-age drinkers in an operation run by police, council and trading standards officers.

The operation involving police, South Oxfordshire District Council and trading standards, took place on Friday to ensure pubs and off-licences across South Oxfordshire were not selling alcohol to under-18s.

Four pubs in Henley passed the test which involved 14- to 16-year-olds who went into the premises and asked to be served alcohol.

The licensees were not pre-warned, but all of them insisted that ID was shown and refused to serve them any alcohol. One off-licence failed.

Sgt Keith Stacey said: "Four out of six pubs in Didcot and Wallingford failed the test purchasing, which shows that Henley pubs stand out as being responsible and well-run establishments.

"Quite apart from the health aspects of underage drinking, the results can cause problems for everyone else including vandalism and intimidation. A small minority of underage drinkers can have a serious impact on the rest of the community and we will continue to run these operations across South Oxfordshire and in Henley, specifically to ensure licensees continue to refuse underage drinkers.

"I urge parents to ensure that they to not let their teenagers take alcohol from the house. If under 18s cannot get hold of alcohol then the associated problems will be prevented.

"I encourage licensees in Henley to keep up the good work and think 21'; if they look under 21 then ask for ID."

Police are also taking other steps to improve the night-time economy in Henley. The Greys Road takeaways have met with police and agreed to reduce their opening times on the weekends to 1am.

The temporary taxi rank set up on the weekends opposite the White Lotus club, which was organised to move people away from Greys Road, is in consultation to become a permanent taxi rank. Residents of Greys Road are being sent a letter to explain the measures being taken to reduce the noise and disturbance on the weekends.

A new scheme called Nightsafe, which is operating in Oxford, is being launched in Henley and on March 30.