Concern as teens getting ‘bags of cans’ delivered to parks by food delivery services

The new phenomenon sees teenagers bypassing ID checks by ordering drinks through food delivery platforms

• 06:00, 17 NOV 2023

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Teenagers are getting “bags of cans” delivered to them in parks for illegal drinking by food delivery couriers, James Lawless has revealed.

The Justice Committee chairman said that he became aware of the latest trick being used by youngsters to get their hands on booze during the committee’s close scrutiny of the law ahead of the introduction of the new Sale of Alcohol Bill 2022.Speaking at the launch of his committee’s pre-legislative scrutiny report on the proposed new legislation, Mr Lawless said: “This struck me as something I hadn’t been aware of prior to the hearings, one item that I was quite concerned with, and the committee were, was the delivery services.”So, the idea that you can ring up a delivery driver for a crate of alcohol to be delivered to a public park, this happens.I didn’t know that myself, perhaps I’m innocent, but you can actually buy a bag of cans and have it sent to you, and not necessarily sent to a house, OK, we can understand that you can order groceries, and alcohol can be part of groceries sometimes, but this is a phenomenon where young people particularly are ordering crates of beer and getting the delivery driver to bring them maybe to a public park or green.

“I think most realise that’s not a healthy way to have things.

“And obviously all the rules and regulations, precautions around public health legislation and even age checks and IDs are obviously absent in that transaction, so it’s just something that caught my eye.”