FORTY gallons of alcohol have been seized from under-age drinkers on the streets of Bolton over just three weekends, the BEN can reveal today.

And 160 police warning letters have been sent out to parents.

Hauls of alcohol seized in a police crackdown -- held over three weekends from March 1 in the Astley Bridge area -- have included vodka, whisky, fortified lager, cider, wine and even lethal home made cocktails containing vast quantities of spirits.

Anxious police chiefs today revealed that problem areas, identified by the police team, where teenage drinking is rife on Friday and Saturday nights, are now being regularly patrolled in an operation codenamed, Operation Classify, Bolton's largest ever crackdown on youth crime.

In addition to Astley Bridge, parts of Westhoughton, Bromley Cross, Horwich and Blackrod, are now being patrolled.

The names of drinkers -- some as young as 12 -- are also being taken and recorded before the alcohol is logged -- and poured down the drain.

Sgt Harry Booth, who is leading the operation, today said the news should shock every parent in Bolton.

He said: "Under-age street drinking is not only a problem for residents but is also a danger for children. We want to wipe it out and we will continue to clamp down on it until we have broken the youth drinking culture.

"This is the first dedicated police operation in Bolton to look at youth disturbance and the cause behind such disturbances." Police officers discovered children in various stages of drunkeness, from being "tipsy to aggressively drunk". Two teenagers had to be taken home.

Officers can now suggest the removal of benches or increasing street lighting in areas known to attract young drinkers.

Sgt Booth added: "I would tell parents to make sure they know where their children are on a weekend. We cannot do this without the help of parents.

"Shopkeepers are co-operating with us, but children are stopping adults on the street who are buying the booze for them."

Weekend police patrols around Astley Bridge have been stepped up and more prosecutions are promised for adults who supply alcohol to children.

Sgt Booth said the scale of teenage drinking had dropped since Operation Classify began but was still a problem.

He said: "People think we are not bothered about young trouble makers, but we are. It will not happen overnight, but it will happen.

"We are determined to tackle these problems which cause misery to residents throughout the town."