A mother left police stunned when she complained about their booze crackdown because her underage daughter could no longer buy the family's beer.
Police had started an under-21 campaign in off-licences, so shopkeepers could ask people who look under 21 for ID.
The scheme is meant to stop underage teens drinking on street corners but if you are over 18 you can still buy booze.
However it proved extremely unpopular with one mum who rang up and branded it a "disgrace" after she sent her underage teen daughter to the shop and she came home with no cans.
Inspector John Parish of Northumbria Police said he was gobsmacked when the complaints from the mum of Thorney Close, Sunderland came through.
She complained to a community beat manager that her daughter likes to buy beer on the weekend for herself and the family.
Insp Parish said: "On the one hand it means off-licenses on the estate are doing their job properly, but for a mother to be annoyed because her teen daughter couldn't buy alcohol is just ridiculous."
Dozens of off-licenses around Sunderland had signed up for the under-21 scheme which means people who look under 21 who try to buy alcohol on a Friday or Saturday night will be asked for ID.
Insp Parish said: "We have had reports that kids are trying to get their hands on a weekend's worth of alcohol on a Thursday, but a lot of the traders are very happy with the results of the scheme."
There is already a national scheme called Challenge 21 which some off-licenses use nationally.
The under-21 scheme is a success in some areas of the city, with neighbours reporting fewer problems with yobs. Santhosh Ravindran, 43 who owns T&S News in Grey Terrace, Ryhope said: "Since I joined the scheme three months ago it has been much better for me.
"The teenagers don't hang around at the front any more. My profits are down, but it is worthwhile because there is so little trouble."
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