by Blue Heart »
24 Apr 2007 23:18
Behindu weybridgewanderer its the driver of the vehicle that gets done for the drinking on board, the police may also do the lease holder but i am not sure.
The police regard the driver as responsible for the vehicle and its use
if you are have people drink on board don't give the police an excuse to stop you .. flags draped out the windows , banging on the windows, moonies at other cars etc etc
I don't think you are correct....
Certainly on the STAR coaches it would be the driver AND the steward who would be in trouble. In the specific Everton case the person who was done was the person who hired the coach, who may also havebeen the driver, but he was proscuted as the hirer.
The Sporting Events (Control of Alcohol etc.) Act 1985 prevents:-
drunken entry into a football ground (which, in practice, to be an arrestable offence includes disorderly behaviour);
the consumption of alcohol within view of the playing area including, during the restricted period (15 minutes before the start of the event to 15 minutes after the end of the event), rooms within the ground from which the event may be directly viewed;
the consumption of alcohol on certain coaches, trains and motor vehicles travelling to a designated football match;
the possession of fireworks or flares.
The Act applies to the following sporting events:-
Association football matches in which one or both of the participating teams represents a club which is for the time being a member (whether a full or associate member) of the Football League, the Football Association Premier League, the Football Conference National Division, the Scottish Football League or Welsh Premier League, or represents a country or territory.
Association football matches in competition the Football association Cup (other than in the preliminary or qualifying round).
The Driver, The Steward, The Coach Hirer and even the Coach Operator can be prosecuted for allowing the transporting/ consuming of alcohol on board a coach to a designated football game.
It is also worth noting that the driver of a mini bus carrying Reading Fans to an away game this year found himself in trouble with the law, because his passengers disembarked from the mini bus carrying the evidence right under the noses of the local constabulary.
