UNDERAGE drinkers hiding alcohol in bottles of soft drink could be caught out by a new police device.

Officers in Hambleton are hoping to use alco-strips which, when dipped into drinks, can detect the presence of alcohol in seconds.

Police will then have the power to pour the drinks away.

PC Pete Taylforth, a member of the Bedale neighbourhood policing team, is aiming to operate a pilot project in the town for the first time.

He said: "In the past, we have had no way of confirming our suspicions.

"Now we will be able to use the strips in areas where we have had previous incidents of disorder, vandalism and anti-social behaviour."

PC Taylforth said teenagers were finding ways around the present methods used by police.

He said: "We started with the legislation for the confiscation of alcohol. That was a shock to the kids and then the legislation was extended so that we could dispose of any open vessel.

"Now we can open cans and take bottle lids off and pour it away in front of individuals.

"But they have got wise to the fact we can do that and they aren't as open with it.

"They will sit with it a bit away from them and keep going back to it.

"We have even had situations when on being approached by the police, individuals have gulped it down knowing that we are going to pour it away.

"If we suspect that an underage individual's can of Tizer or orangeade contains alcohol, then we could pour a little bit out into a separate container and put the strip in.

"We won't be going to the extent of testing the drinks of really young children, but hopefully it will be an extra tool for us to use."

The strips were originally developed in the US for use in hospitals, where they were placed on the forehead of patients to detect the approximate level of alcohol in their system.