UNDERAGE drinking in Sandbach has been reduced thanks to the new Challenge 21 scheme.

The scheme was launched throughout the town last month to encourage teenagers to get plastic ID cards.

Challenge 21 is being organised by Cheshire County Council and is aimed mainly at 16 to 18-year-olds.

The cards will help shopkeepers and landlords determine how old the people they are serving actually are.

The card is free to all students and costs £1.50 to all others and from now on all employees in places such as off licences and pubs will ask for the card when anyone tries to buy age restricted products.

Keith Robbins from Cheshire Police said the Sandbach response had been brilliant.

"An off licence in Wheelock has reported a big fall in the number of people they thought were aged around 18," he explained.

"The shop has also given out a lot of the Validate UK cards and the number of teenagers hanging around outside the shop has reduced," he added.

County Cllr David Lloyd-Griffiths is involved with the scheme and said: "Underage drinking, smoking and solvent abuse are all real dangers to teenage health.

"The card can tackle these problems because each one displays a photograph and precise information about the holder's date of birth," he added.

"This, I believe, will help retailers and publicans because the law is complex regarding the right to buy cigarettes, solvents, alcohol or any age restricted product."

Application forms can be obtained from a number of outlets including schools.

Challenge 21 has already been run in the Crewe area and has proven successful.