A leading supermarket in dawlish is offering a £200 reward to anyone willing to shop an adult buying alcohol for under-age drinkers.

Signs like the one pictured on the right have been put up at Costcutter in Queen Street by proprietor Bob Harding.

The reward will be paid to anyone with information leading to a conviction.

The maximum fine a court can impose on anyone caught trying to evade the licensing laws is £1,000.

Part of Mr Harding's stark message reads: 'If you know who does this, let us and the police know. Your reward £200 for everyone convicted.'

Mr Harding, who has owned the supermarket for several years, said this week it was time that someone took a major step in the fight against under-age drinking in the town.

Incredibly, for the first time for months, he saw two police officers on the streets in Dawlish at the weekend. And, like other traders in the town, he wished he could see that sight more regularly.

'Customer reaction has been good,' he said. 'At least we are trying to do something about it.'

Under-age drinking in Dawlish has been a problem for some time. It is usually worse at weekends, particularly on a friday night.

Mr Harding said licensed shops such as his had a constant battle against people of legal age buying drink for those who were not.

'This has been going on for a long time and it is about time that it was recognised as a problem. It is not something that we should have to put up with.

'We are a local community store and should do something for the community.

'We have very stringent views on about asking for ID and so on at the tills and, at one time, we even tried putting on a 21 years age limit where drink was concerned.'

He added: 'But it is a fact that people do buy drink for other people and it is going on and i don't think these people realise that they could end up with a £1,000 fine and a criminal record.'

Police and the two Neighbourhood Wardens operating in Dawlish have commented publicly in the past about the problems of under-age drinking.

Insp Andy Wagon, head of Dawlish and Teignmouth police, told this newspaper in our story last month about a crackdown on under-age drinkers that he was worried at the extent to which it was going on.

He said at the time: 'I ask myself how young people are getting hold of alcohol from off-licences. Most of our local shops take care to check ages if they are unsure.

'I know that sometimes young people get around this by asking older people to buy it for them. Those older people are breaking the law by doing this.' But he also warned shops that if police found careless on their part, there would be prosecutions.