Young people got together outside Ivybridge Leisure Centre for a colourful street art session as part of the Community Alcohol Prevention project.

Working with local agencies, they used spray paint and creativity to spark conversations about positive choices and strengthen community connections.

Check out some of the fantastic work they did!

A new Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) highlighting the risks of underage drinking to children and young people launched in Ivybridge in June.

The official launch took place on Thursday June 12.‍

‍CAPs are partnerships between police, local authorities, schools, and retailers who work together to highlight the risks of underage drinking and improve the health and wellbeing of local children and young people.

Partners in the Ivybridge CAP include: Co-op, Devon & Cornwall police, The Watermark, Fusion Leisure Centre, Ivybridge Community College, SPACE youth charity and Ivybridge Town Council.

The CAP will work to educate young people about underage drinking and help them to make better decisions about issues such as alcohol, drugs and anti-social behaviour.

Working with local retailers, the CAP also aims to prevent underage sales and ‘proxy’ sales, where adults buy alcohol for under-18s.

Karen Dent, Community and Health Engagement Coordinator, Fusion Lifestyle Leisure Centres "Bringing a Community Alcohol Partnership to an ever-growing Ivybridge town is a proactive and collaborative way to tackle alcohol related issues and promote responsible drinking and behaviours, particularly among young people. By using the local agencies such as schools, retailers, police, health services, community groups and their facilities, hopefully we can reduce underage drinking, improve public safety, minimise alcohol related harm to the young people."

Kate Winstanley, Director of CAP said “We know from extensive research that underage drinking can lead to lots of challenges for young people in their education, relationships, health and also in later life. We also know that the work CAPs do in local communities can help reduce things like the supply of alcohol to children, alcohol-related anti-social behaviour and underage street drinking.”