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AN ON-THE-SPOT test that can tell if youngsters are disguising alcohol tester as pop is being introduced by North police forces after successful trials.

The Alco-dip kits were introduced in County Durham to curb the number of youngsters attending youth discos and getting drunk and committing anti-social behaviour.

The kits were first brought into the country by Sergeant Tim Robson, Durham Police’s licensing officer, who spotted them for alcohol detector sale on the internet in the United States.

Now they are being used in Whitehaven as part of Cumbria Police’s ongoing Respect campaign to combat anti-social behaviour.

Sergeant Robson said: “We started using these at the Powerhouse under-18s discos at Durham University as we had kids breathalyzer from all over the place coming to them.

“They were bringing bottles of water and pop to the alcohol free events but were getting drunk. When you find that the disorder is continuing then there is something more in the Tizer bottle than pop.

“On the first night we used them we went to the front of the queue and began alcohol test all the bottles.

“All the tests came up blue, the sign there is alcohol in the drink. Everyone else in the line began dumping bottles on the street.

“Once caught red-handed, the youngsters’ parents are called breath alcohol tester and told to pick their offspring up. A letter is then sent to their homes informing them that the child’s name is being logged on file.”

In the past, police officers had to prove without a doubt that the liquid in a pop bottle was alcohol before they could legally seize it. This was not always possible on the streets.

But the £1.84 alcohol analyzer test — a three-centimetre felt strip that turns blue when exposed to alcohol — has changed that.

North Mini Electronic Cigarette Yorkshire Police, who have also recently started using the test, have hailed it a success.

A spokeswoman for the force said: “The strips are being used by our officers, who find them to be a useful alcohol sensor tool in combating under-age drinking, which is a major contributory factor in anti-social behaviour. Anything that counters the problem is welcome.”

Cleveland Electronic Cigarette Police are now purchasing the kits to see how effective they are before making a decision on whether to deploy them on the streets.

Northumbria police have also used the tests.