Rather than the usual glass of sherry, elderly residents in sheltered accommodation in the Kirkham area will be having a slightly different kind of tipple with their mince pies this Christmas.

Thanks to alcohol seizures across the rural Fylde, hampers full of the confiscated alcohol will be donated to make Christmas for the residents just that little bit more festive.

PCSO Annette Begg has been organising distribution of the alcohol.

She said, "'Alcohol swoops' by the Friday night hotspot team in Kirkham and rural Fylde over the last four months have resulted in the recovery of over 1000 cans and bottles of alcohol.

"We have been saving all the booze we have collected from underage drinkers in and around the Kirkham area and basically we have now run out of room to store anymore.

"We hope that by doing this some good will come from what has been a problem for our local communities."

The alcohol, which includes lager, cider, wine and alcopops, has been confiscated by officers on special youth nuisance patrols undertaken as a result of issues raised at local PACT or Police and Community Together meetings in Kirkham and in the rural areas of the Fylde.