The resort of Torbay has spent £30,000 of taxpayers; money on flip-flops for women who are too drunk to stagger home in high heels.

The initiative by Safer Communities Torbay, a partnership between Devon and Cornwall Police, Torbay Council, the fire and rescue service and the local education authority, is meant to reduce the number of injuries caused by 'dangerous' footwear, including stubbed toes and sprained ankles.

The scheme, funded by the Home Office, is due to start next month in time for Christmas office party revellers, who pour out of the resorts clubs and bars in the early hours.

Officers will carry bags of the unisex flip-flops and will hand them to anyone who looks unsteady.

The rubber shoes, which bear printed messages about safe drinking and alcohol limits, will also be available free of charge from the council;s ;safe bus; on the harbourside.

Adrian Leisk, from Safer Communities Torbay, said: ;Sometimes people get drunk and you see them carrying footwear which is inappropriate. The emphasis is on providing replacement footwear for people to get home in, should they find their footwear uncomfortable, inappropriate or soiled. We have consulted with people who work week-in, week-out in our nighttime economy areas, including police, street pastors and the safe bus and this is just one of a number of measures designed to keep people safe.;

The pressure group Taxpayers; Alliance criticised the scheme as an ;idiotic waste of money;.

But the initiative was welcomed by clubgoers. Danielle Bolton, 19, said: ;It;s a great idea and I would wear them 100 per cent. My heels hurt me at the end of the night so I tend to take them off. It;s a hell of a lot easier to walk with flip-flops than high heels.;

Leanne Thomas, 21, added: ;I go out clubbing at the harbourside most weekends and I usually walk home barefooted because my heels hurt. I think it;s a great idea.;

The £;30,000 budget will also cover the cost of free condoms, rape alarms and personal safety information that will also be available on the safe bus. Superintendent Chris Singer, head of Torbay police, said: ;We;re hopeful that this initiative will help protect dozens of women who are vulnerable to injury after a night out with friends.;

Concern that children as young as 12 are drinking alcohol has led to the introduction of breathalysers at a teenage disco in Cornwall.

The tests have revealed that nearly half the young people at the weekly event for under16s have been drinking. The owners of Club 2K in Penzance say the tests were introduced because its ;nice community evenings; had been marred by antisocial behaviour.

Extra doormen have been drafted in to breathalyse a selection of the 300 children attending the Friday night dance. If the test shows positive for alcohol the child is told to leave.

Club 2K;s director Robert Matthews said: ;Unfortunately, about 40 per cent of those we test do show that they have been drinking and we immediately ask them to leave. We even had one youngster whose reading was more than double the current drink-driving level, which is pretty horrific for someone under the age of 16. The under-16s disco is a nice community evening; parents can go in another bar and have a coffee or beer while their children are next door. We don’t want it spoiled by youngsters who have been drinking.;

The trained doormen carry hand-held Breathalysers like those used by traffic police and they test a selection of guests at random.

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