People enjoying a night out could be breathalysed on the street as part of a drive to cut down on alcohol-related crime.

Medway Police is studying the possibility of on-the-spot breath tests both for youngsters suspected of underage boozing and adult rowdy revellers.

The idea is based on an initiative used in Rotterdam, Holland, where police can stop people and issue them with warnings if they are found to have been drinking.

It is just one idea that may be put into practice after Medway Police was awarded with Home Office funding to pioneer ways of tackling the problems of binge drinking.

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The decision to investigate how the Dutch scheme could be used in the UK came after a crime-fighting seminar in Rochester.

The Taking Action Together seminar was a meeting of different groups in the community aimed at reducing crime in Medway.

Chief Insp Des Keers said: "The seminar, which was the first of its kind nationally, has been a resounding success.

"A number of key factors came out from the day’s discussions, which we will be looking at. These included the importance of using best practice from police forces in Europe such as breath testing pedestrians; encouraging licensees to join the Safer Medway Partnership to proactively help prevent alcohol-related disorder before it gets out of control; and the value of dedicated neighbourhood police officers."

Insp Peter Raggers, of Rotterdam police, told the seminar that licensees responded well because they were blamed for the behaviour of people who arrived drunk on their premises.

Kent police said there were no details at present on how on-the-spot breat test would work, as they were still considering whether or not to use it at all.