Peter WalshA hard-hitting DVD filmed in the city which has helped raise awareness about the dangers of binge drinking to youngsters across the country has been hailed a success by police chiefs.Peter Walsh

A hard-hitting DVD filmed in the city which has helped raise awareness about the dangers of binge drinking to youngsters across the country has been hailed a success by police chiefs.

The five-minute film from Norfolk Constabulary 'Your Night, Your Choice' was initially released last year and is being used by officers to educate young people about the real-life consequences of binge drinking.

The film, which was created in direct response to national concerns about the dangers of drinking among younger people, has been sent out to high schools, colleges, universities, and other police forces throughout the country.

The educational DVD includes an optional education pack - to be taught to teenagers at Key Stage 4 level - which contains a lesson plan with group worksheets and a drink awareness game.

It comes as the government has announced plans to make it easier for police to confiscate alcohol from youths and move on groups of teenagers who cause trouble. Shopkeepers who repeatedly sell alcohol to young people will also be targeted.

Chief Inspector Gavin Tempest, said the film, which featured students from across the county and was filmed in Norwich, had proved popular with schools, colleges and other police forces.

He said: 'It's intended to get to the student audience and young person audience because traditionally police, local authorities, and other statutory authorities tended to do things to the young person group rather than with them or for them.

'From what other police forces have said who want to use it to reach young people it's been very well accepted and a lot of the further education establishments have used it and cascaded it.

'We're not pretending it's the only one, but the fact that copies of it are being distributed and sold outside Norfolk is testament to the fact there was a market.'

The film uses a Sliding Doors-style device to show the outcome of two characters' night out with and without excessive drink.

In the first case they go home happy, but in the second a girl is left in tears and bleeding. The film is shot to appeal to a young audience with sudden fast forward judders to simulate disorientating drunkenness and it is set to the soundtrack of dance group Underworld who contributed their hit Born Slippy free.

Chf Insp Tempest, co-ordinator of the Norfolk Nightsafe scheme which aims to ban troublemakers from licensed venues in the county to help improve the night time environment, said the DVD was one way the police was looking to tackle the problem.

He said: 'The focus here is on young people but we won't be changing our approach in Norfolk which is to target enforcement activity towards known problem areas where under-age drinking is a public nuisance or harmful to people, either those who are victimised or the youngsters themselves who are at risk of harm.'

For further information or to purchase a copy of Your Night, Your Choice, contact the social marketing team at Norfolk Constabulary on 0845 456 4567.

Have you produced a film to help tackle a social problem? Call reporter Peter Walsh on 01603 772436 or email peter.walsh@archant.co.uk