No 10 unit blames 'vertical drinking' for rise of the louts

The vision of legless teenagers toppling into the gutter with a pint of beer in one hand and a greasy kebab in the other has exercised clean-living ministers for years.

The vision of legless teenagers toppling into the gutter with a pint of beer in one hand and a greasy kebab in the other has exercised clean-living ministers for years.

And now Tony Blair's strategy unit, charged with finding a solution to the rise in drunken behaviour in young people, believes that it has found the culprit: vertical drinking.

The unit has identified this phenomenon - otherwise known as standing around in a pub downing pint after pint until closing time - as the main component of binge drinking.

Downing Street's keenest minds believe that introducing a more sedentary style of drinking, as found in continental cafés, could persuade young people to imbibe more reservedly and with greater discrimination. This more measured approach, which could be accompanied by distracting snacks, might stop them ending up horizontal on the street.

A report on alcohol misuse, to be published later this year by the strategy unit, will suggest that the Government's alcohol harm reduction strategy should try to end the "vertical drinking culture".

The report, which will underpin a change in policy at the Department of Health and the Home Office, is designed to tackle the increase in binge drinking which is a factor in youth crime and violence.

The unit believes that cut-price drinks, often offered for only a short time during "happy hours", is also encouraging rapid boozing. "Vertical drinking is a key issue," said one Downing Street source. "If everybody is standing up and drinking 15 tequilas for a pound each that is a problem."

The unit has studied trends in drunkenness throughout the country and looked at which kind of establishments have the worst record of violence after closing time. They have found that traditional pubs or "places where there aren't any seats" are among the worst and encourage people to drink more. This is creating "no-go areas" in town centres where youths behave aggressively, and drive local people away. "It's very noticeable that places where you can sit down you don't have that culture of drunkenness. All Bar One is the sort of place where you don't get trouble," said the source.

The researchers have also looked at the effects of alcohol misuse, which include violence, petty crime and damage to health. A report by the unit this month will produce figures showing an increase in binge drinking while a final report by the end of the year will recommend solutions.

They are examining how to tempt adult drinkers to return to pubs dominated by aggressive teenagers. They believe adults may have a moderating influence on the youths.

Three years ago the Prime Minister was forced to water down a proposal for police to frogmarch offenders to the nearest cash machine to pay spot fines, when police told him this was unworkable.

But the Government has launched a number of initiatives, including issuing tickets which can be paid later. Regional trials of £40 and £80 penalties for drunkenness and rowdy behaviour are expected to be extended nationally, even though a recent Home Office study showed that only half the fines were paid on time.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2001, alcohol was responsible for 7 per cent of deaths among young men. Twenty years ago the figure was only 2 per cent.