EAST End cops have stopped boozy teens from congregating and causing trouble in a city park - by cutting off their alcohol supply.

The force has gone after adults buying booze for teenagers in a bid to crackdown on anti-social behaviour in Tollcross Park.

Their tactic to target those involved in a 'proxy purchase' was deployed after fed-up Tollcross residents made as many as 18 calls a weekend to complain about anti-social behaviour in the park last October. Over the year those calls have dropped significantly through a number of measures taken by cops.

Chief Inspector Patrick Murphy said: "There were numerous complaints and calls about underage drinking and anti-social behaviour in the park.

"We were getting complaints from dog walkers, people using the park for recreation and the local community.

"It was fairly low level anti-social behaviour but when you put that altogether, it effects the residents and the park in general as a recreation area."

He added: "By tackling the source and effectively taking the alcohol out of it , we have seen a dramatic drop in anti-social behaviour."

A total of seven people have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal since September for allegedly buying alcohol for people under the age of 18.

The four men, aged 26, 39, 45 and 54, and three women, aged 18, 18 and 35, were snared during an ongoing operation by both undercover cops and uniformed officers who targeted shops in and around the Shettleston and Tollcross areas.

St Helens <a href=Council's Young People’s Drug and Alcohol Team (YPDAAT) is inviting parents and guardians to sign its ACE pledge"> St Helens Council's Young People’s Drug and Alcohol Team (YPDAAT) is inviting parents and guardians to sign its ACE pledge

Asking an adult to buy booze is one of the most common tactics used by young people to access alcohol.

The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 states that it is an offence for a person to “act as an agent for a child in purchasing or attempting to purchase alcohol”. This practice is also known as proxy purchase.

Chief Inspector Murphy said: "We have seen that immediate significant drop in anti-social behaviour and we have reported seven people which is incredible since the start of September.

"That is quite frightening and I believe that is only the tip of the iceberg."

Through intelligence gathering, officers discovered that the park was attracting youths from all over the city every weekend.

They sent high-viability patrols into the park in bid to deter the anti-social behaviour. Advice and education messages relating to underage drinking has also been given to teenagers through school campus cops.

But it was through introducing the You're Asking For It campaign, that officers have managed to reduce the number of complaints about anti-social behaviour in Tollcross Park. Over the last few weeks since the campaign was launched in September, they have seen an average of 13 reports of anti-social behaviour a weekend drop to three. Last weekend, there was no reports of anti-social behaviour in Tollcross Park received.

The You're Asking For It campaign was developed by Scottish Alcohol Industry Partnership and Scottish Government with Police Scotland and representatives from North Lanarkshire Council, where it was initially piloted.

You're Asking For It aims to raise awareness of the consequences of proxy purchase. It also aims to lower the number of attempted purchases of alcohol for under 18s, and reduce crime and antisocial behaviour.

The campaign warns that any adult who buys alcohol for someone under the age of 18 could be fined anything up to £5,000 or may receive a prison sentence of up to three months or a criminal record.

Chief Inspector Murphy, above, said: "I think those involved in a 'proxy purchase' don’t realise the impact that they are having.

"Not only is there anti-social behaviour around that underage drinking. They are committing a criminal offence in the first instance.

"Effectively they are impacting the young person’s health and you are potentially going down the road of criminalizing a young person when they may not have been criminalized beforehand."

He added: "I don’t think the adults realise the impact they are having, not only in their own communities but they are jeopardising the licensee, all potentially to do a favour for a young person or make a financial profit off it."

Chief Inspector Murphy thanked his local officers for their hard work on the campaign and said that now the message is out there, they may deploy the tactic elsewhere in the East End if necessary.

He said: "We will continue this campaign on. We are watching this problem, we have measures to put in place in relation to combat it and we also have enforcement should we need it."

He added: "We are listening to the community. Tollcross Park has always been an issue when it comes to anti-social behaviour.

"We want the park to be a safe place for the community, and we want young people to enjoy it as well."