Bradford North police are warning under-age drinkers that buying alcohol with a fake ID will no longer be an option.

Officers in the Queensbury, Clayton, Thornton and Allerton areas of Bradford have carried out 26 test purchase operations and issued nine on-the-spot £80 fixed-penalty notices to those off-licences found to be selling alcohol to minors.

During the course of these investigations it was discovered that there were large numbers of fake identification cards being used in the area that had been bought on internet sites.

Inspector Paul Hepworth, pictured, of Bradford North Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "We want to let people using fake ID know that we are taking steps to tackle this and it will soon be much harder for people to get served with a fake ID.

"We will be issuing off-licenses with packs that clearly ex-plain which sorts of ID are legitimate and should be accepted and which types of ID are fake and should be refused.

"We will also be reminding the owners of off-licenses of the action we will take should they serve the under-age."

He added that the misuse of alcohol by minors was intrinsically linked to anti-social behaviour.

The packs that are being given to off-licenses will not just say which forms of ID are legitimate and which are not. They will also contain forms for people to apply for a CitizenCard.

CitizenCards are available to anyone of any age for the purposes of proving age or identity.

For more information visit www.citizencard.com.