PUBS and clubs now have a new weapon in the fight to stop under-age drinkers using fake IDs.

Rochford-based Q-Systems has developed the new ID scanner which aims to catch out youngsters using a range of forged identity documents.

Rayleigh’s Pink Toothbrush nightclub is already using one and Q-Systems says it has interest from leading venues in London.

The system captures a live image of each customer as they come in, and can scan their ID document in 1.5 seconds to check their age and compare the document against more than 3,600 known types of ID.

It also allows door staff to check customers’ images against a rogues’ gallery of banned people.

Pink Toothbrush manager Tony Lord said: “It’s very easy to use and will help us build up a database of people coming in to the club.

“It will make getting in quicker. If they’ve been in before, they can just scan their ID and get straight in, which also makes life easier for our door staff.”

Q-Systems’ ThomasHumble said: “We’ve just released the scanner, so to get such interest already is great.

“There is only one other company doing anything similar in the country and ours is much cheaper.

“Our managing director is a very clever man and it was his idea to do something like this.

“The system looks for telltale signs of fake IDs, so we hope it will really tackle under-age drinking.

“ B e i n g able to log into a database of when and why s o m e o n e has been kicked out of a venue will also really help managers and door staff.”

Q-Systems started in 1990 and designs and makes entry and admission systems, cloakroom management technology, bar tills and barcode scanners used by some of the biggest venues and events in the country, including the O2 Arena and Glastonbury Festival.