A VICAR has spoken of his concern after discovering children as young as 13 were getting drunk and having sex in his churchyard.

Father John Salter, vicar at Wantage Parish Church, said he regularly found condoms and empty alcohol bottles in the grounds of SS Peter and Paul Church, in Church Street.

He blamed the problem of out-of-control youths on a “complete breakdown in human behaviour”, saying people, including teenagers, no longer appreciated that they lived in a community.

His comments follow a police operation earlier this month which saw 40 bottles of alcohol seized from under 18s.

During the four-hour operation, officers emptied out bottles of drinks, such as cider, Smirnoff Ice and Lambrini, which had been found on children in the churchyard, as well as in nearby Betjeman Park and the town centre.

Pc Marc Lester, the new town centre neighbourhood officer for Wantage, said: “We had been told by the community it was a problem so we organised the operation.

“I didn’t think we would seize that much, I would normally expect them to drink in their houses but they are moving about from place to place.

“They were aged between 13 and 17. Some of the kids are faces we see weekly. They are not an issue in the week, it’s just when they’ve had a few too many.

“We will continue to do this until we notice a significant reduction in youth drinking and associated crime.

“The teenagers felt hard done by until we had a chat with them about why it was wrong.”

Fr Salter said: “I think the drinking problem is more serious because there is more of it. We have a ludicrous bylaw which forbids it, but it is not in any way implemented.

“I notice the condoms in the path when I go to open up, and sometimes we pick up empty vodka bottles. You would think it would be in the summer, but it’s any time of year.

“There is a complete break-down in human behaviour. It is entirely centred upon self and not other people and the realisation that we live in a community. That’s not just true of teenagers.

“I am concerned for the people who are involved. If kids are 13 and consuming large quantities of alcohol, then what are they doing to themselves, and if they are having sex with multiple partners, then what does that say about relationships.”

Pc Lester said new legislation meant any underage teenager caught with alcohol would receive a letter home warning them about their behaviour.

The second time they are caught, the letter will be hand-delivered, and the third time could result in prosecution.

Figures collected from more than 5,000 young people in the county by Oxfordshire County Council revealed one in 10 children as young as 11 in Oxfordshire were regularly getting drunk.

In the past year alone, 100 children with drink and drugs problems in the county have been referred for expert help.