Tesco and Waitrose stores have joined forces with Westminster City Council to tackle street drinking.
The retailers agreed with the local authority to stop selling super strength lager and cider in stores in areas troubled with street drinkers.
Under the initiative, the supermarkets, along with other leading stores including Londis and Budgens, as well as off-licences such as Threshers, have agreed to stop stocking drinks such as Carlsberg Special Brew, Tennants Extra and Diamond White to discourage street drinkers and associated problems such as drug dealing, begging and street urination.
The voluntary scheme includes more than 25 premises in Marylebone High Street, Victoria and Pimlico and has paid dividends, the council said.
Councillor Audrey Lewis, Cabinet Member for Community Protection and Licensing, said:
“We need to address the very real social problems which alcohol causes and contributes to, and we have found supermarkets and off-licences are increasingly prepared to join us in taking firm action to help their local community. They are willing to do this if they know that their competitors will be doing the same.
“Cheap, super-strength alcohol is aimed at alcoholics, drug users and some of the most vulnerable and needy members of society. This scheme has drastically reduced the number of street drinkers in these areas, and while it is by no means a panacea, it is a valuable common sense tool local authorities can use to help tackle not just street drinking itself, but also help improve the quality of life for all residents and visitors.
“Westminster is not alone in having to deal with the effects of the indiscrimate sale of alcohol, which blights towns and cities around the country. There is no reason why this scheme can not be rolled out to areas with the greatest need, and I would expect supermarkets to want to play their part.”
Sir Simon Milton, the leader of Westminster City Council, and also Chair of the Local Government Association, said: "We should be treating the sale of alcohol in the same way we treat tobacco with all the relevant pricing restraints and health warnings. The Government needs to get a proper handle on this and come up with a robust national policy to deal what is a rapidly growing problem. It is also high time for the drinks industry to accept its own moral obligations.
"Tesco has already added its voice to calls for tighter legislation around the sale of alcohol and now is an opportune time for the Government to heed these calls that we, and people in the industry, are making.”
In Marylebone High Street, the voluntary scheme along with a number of anti-social behaviour contracts for street drinkers and a group dispersal zone, reduced the number of times police confiscated alcohol from street drinkers each day by half and officers say there is now no need for the dispersal zone to be in place.
The council surveyed people in nearby Paddington Gardens before and after the start of the Marylebone scheme and found the number of people who said street drinkers were a problem dropped by 35 per cent.
