RESTRICTIONS on consuming alcohol in public could be enforced in the East Yorkshire village where a 12-year-old boy died after drinking cider.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council will consider next week whether to ban drinking in an area of Holme-on-Spalding Moor.

Market Weighton School pupil Gary Young collapsed on playing fields and died in July after drinking cider with a group of friends. A post-mortem showed the cause of his death was aspiration pneumonitis, or inhaling his own vomit.

Holme-on-Spalding Moor Parish Council put forward a proposal for restrictions to be made in another area of the village where residents have been plagued with vandalism and noisy behaviour.

Doreen Engall, vice-chairwoman of the parish council, said: "Nobody wants to deprive young people from being young people, but these measures will save them from themselves. We do not want to be killjoys but it is in the best interests of everybody.

"I think it will calm the situation down to a certain extent. If it is a designated non-drinking area it should have a remarkable effect."

Restrictions have already been put in place in others towns and villages in East Yorkshire, including a number of areas within Market Weighton.

The East Riding of Yorkshire Council's executive will meet on Tuesday to consider the proposals for Holme-on-Spalding Moor as well as those for ten other East Yorkshire towns and villages.

James Johnson, East Riding of Yorkshire Council's head of public protection, said: "Council officers and the police see these powers as a valuable tool for addressing disorder and antisocial behaviour.

"They believe that they will make a significant contribution to improving the quality of life for residents and visitors to those areas."

The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 allows local authorities to impose restrictions on drinking in public places where it causes nuisance or disorder.

The restrictions mean it is an offence for someone to continue drinking after being warned by a police officer and they can be arrested if the offence continues.

Restrictions are already in place in areas of York including Museum Gardens, Glen Gardens, Heworth, and land behind Poppleton Community Centre and also in Valley Gardens, Harrogate.

Updated: 10:13 Saturday, August 31, 2002