A GLASGOW MSP has demanded a crackdown on people who buy booze for underage drinkers.

A GLASGOW MSP has demanded a crackdown on people who buy booze for underage drinkers.

The call from LibDem MSP Robert Brown comes after figures revealed only five people were prosecuted in Glasgow for buying alcohol for under-18s in the past year.

The city is lagging behind other areas, where figures are still low but where in one case they are more than double that of Scotland's largest city.

In North Lanarkshire, there were 10 prosecutions for buying alcohol for under-18s, the highest in Scotland, and in Falkirk there was seven, Highland had eight and South Ayrshire had seven.

Across Scotland in 2007/08, a total of 110 people were prosecuted, with cases in every local authority area except Aberdeenshire and Midlothian.

The 110 prosecutions resulted in 88 people being fined in court, ranging from £40 to £500.

The figures also showed only five Glasgow retailers were prosecuted for selling drink to under-18s.

While Glasgow had five prosecutions, Renfrewshire had 12, South Ayrshire eight - but there were none in East Dunbartonshire.

More than half of those taken to court escaped without a fine.

A total of 111 retailers were prosecuted across Scotland, leading to only 49 fines, ranging from £60 to £1000.

The information was given by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill to Glasgow LibDem MSP Robert Brown, who wants to see more retailers being taken to court, with the use of undercover teenagers testing shops' willingness to sell illegally.

Mr Brown said: "We need to ensure the police and others involved take this seriously enough to bring prosecutions.

"I hope the use of test purchasing, which can now be used as evidence, will lead to more prosecutions where offences are committed."

Glasgow MSP Bill Aitken, the Tories' justice spokesman, said more police surveillance was needed to catch those responsible.

He said: "Five prosecutions cannot possibly represent the size of the problem."