MOST Island pubs will no longer accept driving licences as identification of age because of the number of under-age drivers using fake licences to get into pubs and nightclubs.

Although the police are unsure of the exact number of forgeries that have been intercepted, leading figures at Randalls Brewery and CI Hospitality – the two major Island breweries – said that the figure could be in its hundreds.

The problem has motivated both companies to announce that driving licences will no longer be accepted as identification in their pubs and nightclubs.

‘It is widely known that driving licences can easily be forged in all sorts of ways,’ said Mary Le Hegarat, head of the community safety branch of the States Police.

‘It has been a problem for some time.’ Following advice from the police, by 31 March next year all licensed premises in the Island will stop accepting driving licences as identification, although CI Hospitality and Randalls have already banned their use in their pubs and nightclubs.