Police are warning that people who lend their passports to under-age drinkers could face having their documents seized and missing out on foreign holidays.

Grampian Police say that those who let under-age drinkers use their ID could face prosecution as well as the person using it.

Chief Inspector George MacDonald said: "The owner of the passport could also face a bill of up to £112 to get a new one and risk missing out on a planned holiday as well because they have no travel documents."

Police in the area have seen an increase in under-age drinkers using borrowed passports and driving licences to get into premises, while others are being caught with fake documents such as student cards bought online.

Police are working with the licensed trade and door stewards to ensure anyone caught using someone else's passport or fake ID to gain entry to pubs and clubs will have the documents seized and the incident reported to the police.

They say that should a 17-year-old be caught attempting to use a passport borrowed from an older sibling to get into a nightclub, police would be called, the passport would be confiscated and both the 17-year-old and the older sibling would be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

Fraudulant use of documents like driving licences issued to other people and deliberate use of fake ID are also covered by ID card legislation.

Chief Inspector MacDonald said: "Passports taken in these circumstances will not be returned to the owners at the end of our enquiries and the passport authorities will be notified of the circumstances in which it was seized.

"Both the user and owner of genuine passports and other identification could find themselves in serious trouble – our message is it's just not worth it.