Requests for National ID cards increase
More than 23,000 application packs for National ID cards - billed as the ideal ID for alcohol sales - have been requested.
The news comes as the controversial scheme is set to be rolled out in London on 8 February. The cards, which are not compulsory, cost £30 and have already been introduced in the north-west, where 3,000 have been printed.
Meanwhile, research by the Identity and Passport Service has revealed over half of lost and stolen passports belong to people under 30 - a tenth of those are lost when used as ID on a night out.
PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) chairman Robert Humphreys agreed that the volume of passports lost is "shocking".
"Pub managers are sweeping them up at the end of the night," he said. "The cost and inconvenience caused to the young people who have lost them is spectacular.
"The PASS card, complete with the hologram, should be accepted as an alternative on licensed premises.
"PASS cards offer a much lower risk to the holder than National ID cards because they don't hold valuble personal information. They are perfectly safe."
British Beer and Pub Association chief executive Brigid Simmonds is an advocate of the ID cards.
"Pubs work very hard to prevent underage sales, but in a busy pub environment, it can sometimes be a challenge," she said.
"Identity cards will be another useful tool for London licensees to help avoid such sales, while at the same time making sure that legal customers are welcomed."
