TEENAGE drinkers have turned an alleyway on Portishead High Street into a no-go zone at night. Crowds of youngsters are gathering inWorthingtons Walk, at the side of Worthingtons, and using it as a place to drink and cause mischief into the early hours. C

TEENAGE drinkers have turned an alleyway on Portishead High Street into a no-go zone at night.Crowds of youngsters are gathering inWorthingtons Walk, at the side of Worthingtons, and using it as a place to drink and cause mischief into the early hours.Complaints have been received from shopkeepers who say the area is full of cigarette butts, litter and empty bottles and cans.Only this week vandals have pulled off the guttering at Worthingtons, causing hundreds of pounds of damage.A spokesperson for Worthingtons said: "There has always been a problem with this walkway, but recently it has got worse."The guttering was ripped down the other night and graffiti has been daubed on the shop's side walls."It is very difficult to get off because the walls are Bath stone, so we have to have a specialist firm come out and blast it off."It is a constant battle to keep the lane in a reasonable condition and it must be extremely intimidating for people walking down there at night to see all the youths there drinking."The lane was created around 20 years ago to provide a link from the High Street to Wyndham Way.The alleyway falls outside the alcohol-free zone which currently covers the town and bans people from drinking on the streets.But police say they will still seize alcohol from anyone under 18 - regardless of whether the area is covered by a ban.Portishead police sergeant Terry Scoble said: "We have the powers to seize alcohol from under-18s regardless of whether an alcohol ban is in force."The alley is a gathering place and it is an area we regularly patrol. Anyone found supplying alcohol to under-18s also risks being issued with a fixed penalty notice for £80.