A fall of more than 50 per cent in complaints about vandalism and assault has been recorded after a ban on alcohol off-sales to under-21s in an area of Scotland often blighted by youth drunkenness.

A successful pilot scheme in the West Lothian communities of Armadale, Blackridge and Westfield, which has been running for five weeks, appears to offer startling evidence of the link between alcohol and anti- social behaviour among young people.

Every off-sale retailer in the area signed up to the initiative, where anyone who looked under the age of 25 had to be asked for identification.

The results were startling. There has been a 57 per cent reduction recorded for assaults, together with a 55 per cent reduction in calls to police from residents in the area about youths.

Over the first five weeks of the pilot, which ends next week, there were 35 calls about vandalism in the area, a 54 per cent reduction on the previous period.

Chief Inspector Jim Baird, of Lothian and Borders Police, said the raw statistics would need to be analysed further. He said: “While this data is superb, we have been doing other things in the area, which could have affected the results, for instance our safer neighbourhood scheme.

“I am cautiously optimistic and very encouraged by the statistics but we need a professional analyst to look at the data.

“We thought youths would maybe go to other towns to buy alcohol but officers and youth workers on the ground have said this doesn't seem to be the case and that the youths in the area seem to be very territorial.”

Peter Johnston, the leader of West Lothian council, said: “We chose Armadale specifically because it is a fairly self-contained area and young people could go outside to buy drink.

“We don't think that has been happening and it is interesting that during the pilot, two of the neighbouring villages, Blackridge and Westfield, were added, so there is no evidence to suggest that people were getting out of the town to buy alcohol.”

“The initial results of the pilot project are most encouraging. The police have still to finalise the statistics, but the early indications reveal a significant drop in alcohol-related problems in the area.

“We now need to take some time to assess the full details. We plan to hold discussions with the police, the licensed trade and other interested parties.

“No decisions have been taken yet, but we will be considering the possibility of extending the scheme based on the results of the success of the pilot project.”

Mr Johnston said: “I would like to thank licensees in the Armadale area for the way they co-operated with this partnership project.

“We do recognise this is only one tool we can use in tackling alcohol-related problems among young people. West Lothian Council is looking to develop a range of activities for young people, including free swimming on Friday afternoons.”

Two years ago, an innovative curfew in the West Lothian village of Mid Calder was brought in successfully to stop teenagers loitering. The first dispersal order in Scotland to be placed on an entire residential area had a significant impact, with only seven complaints about youth disorder during the first month of the “village Asbo”. Before, police had dealt with up to seven calls a night.

Checks on surrounding villages showed their anti-social levels had not risen, indicating the problem was not simply displaced.

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