Kick out the kids - right now

There's a real chance that hundreds of pubs could be closed this summer, and facing big fines. The smoking ban? No, this is nothing to do with that.This is to do with serving under-age drinking, which despite all that's been said and done by Government, trade bosses, BDMs and Morning Advertiser is still a major problem for this industry.

But make no mistake, this is crunch time now. The next police blitz is set for May, and licensees caught serving the under 18s are likely to find themselves in very big trouble.

In fact, get caught doing it three times and a pub could find itself closed for up to three months - and with a whopping £10,000 fine to boot

Since the trade started to seriously address the problem of under-age sales about two years ago, there has been real progress and many who previously sailed far too close to the wind, changed tack. Managed chains such as Regent took a long hard look at what was going on, realised the dangers and clamped down hard by turning away anyone who couldn't prove they were over 21. The company knew the cost of losing its licence was far too high a price to pay for a slack door policy.

However, many licensees are still far too reliant on the under-age trade. They turn a blind eye, or don't support their staff sufficiently during the weekend crushes when checking can just go out the door.

If they do get caught in police stings, they then complain about entrapment and deception. "Haven't the police got better things to do with their time than persecuting poor licensees just trying to make an honest living?" is the line they'll take.

In truth, they do have a point. If parents don't care what their kids are doing, why should licensees be criminalised for serving those kids?

Be that as it may, this is not the time to argue the toss with your local police force. If you want to stay in business, you've got to kick out the kids. Challenge 21 is the policy you must adopt. Ask your customers for proper ID, accredited by PASS. Back your staff up in difficult situations, such as when they're being intimidated by under-age drinkers who are known to them.

The eyes of the Government are on the trade now. If this latest and toughest campaign embarrasses the trade, then Government will keep it running until licensees get the message.

This is not a time to complain that 17-year-old girls look 21. It's a time to hang on to your licence.