A Burnham-On-Sea hotel owner has issued a stark warning to parents about a dangerous new drinking craze which is growing in popularity with local young people.
Paul Chatwin, owner of The Royal Clarence Hotel on the town’s seafront, is keen to raise awareness of the danger.
“Neknomination is where a ‘friend’ nominates you to drink a one pint concoction of drinks, video it and then post the video online within 24 hours; and then to nominate two of your friends to do the same, who in turn nominate two of their friends,” he told Burnham-On-Sea.com.
“I think it is extremely important that parents are fully aware of this dangerous craze; not only affecting school age children who manage to acquire alcohol but also those over the age of 18 too.”
“The craze seems particularly popular with younger people who are more prone to succumb to peer pressure or who may not appreciate the dangers associated with drinking large amounts of alcohol in a very short time.”
“Those who refuse to take part are often subjected to name calling and other forms of bullying.”
He added: “Although The Royal Clarence has an over-21s policy, even we have experienced customers attempting to purchase large quantities of different spirits in order to take part in the craze. Thankfully, our staff have been vigilant and have refused the sale.”
The craze is spreading using online social networking and Paul says that Facebook has so far “refused all attempts to have this craze removed.” He added: “We are taking a stance by refusing to advertise with them until such time that they do. If all of us who advertise with the social media giant did the same they would soon take notice.”
