Plans for drink-free club nights for under-18s in Witney have been welcomed by police and youth workers.

Heventeen, a group which organises dance and live music events for teenagers, is holding the first in what organisers hope will be a series of 'dry' club nights at The Palace nightclub, in Market Square, next Monday.

Only 13- to 17-year-olds will be allowed in and there will be strict no-alcohol and no-smoking rules in place as an Ibiza-style foam party gets under way to celebrate the start of the school summer holidays.

The Palace will open from 7.30pm to 10.30pm.

The event is being organised a year after calls were made for a regular under-18s nightclub to give teenagers somewhere to go and help stop underage drinking.

Heventeen organisers and Palace owner Reg Neale are hoping that parents, councils, schools and other people in the town will support the event so that further nights can be organised.

Mr Neale previously ran under-18s nights at the club, but stopped because he felt he was not properly qualified to provide appropriate super- vision for the teenagers.

He said: "I know there's a need for something like this and I've been wanting to set it up for a while now, but was unable to find anyone appropriate to organise it.

"Heventeen are spot-on when it comes to these types of events and have a great past record at other venues across the country."

Base 33 youth club, which runs in High Street, said regular nights for teenagers would be "fantastic".

Jenny Ewing, substance misuse worker at the youth centre, said: "There's not a lot for young people to do in Witney and they do get bored. A foam party is exactly what they've been asking for, so I'm sure it will go down well."

The youth club has organised its own 'dry' club nights at Langdale Hall and Witney Football Club, and plans to organise another during the summer holidays.

Chief Insp Dennis Evernden, West Oxfordshire area commander, said he was supportive of the club night because there was a lack of facilities in Witney for teenagers, and similar events in Oxford had been a success.

He said: "I guess that much of the success will be down to the young people themselves treating the facility with respect and the club themselves ensuring that alcohol and drugs, including tobacco, are not tolerated."

Former nightclub general manager Mark Stancer, of Cheltenham, who along with wife Mandy has run Heventeen for six years, said he wanted to assure people that the event would be properly supervised and there was a strict code of conduct in place that must be adhered to.

The father-of-two said: "In other areas, we've built up good relationships with local groups, parents and schools and that's the aim for Witney.

"It's only with this support that it can be a success."

Admission to Heventeen costs £6. Mr Stancer said parents wanting more information could log onto the website www.heventeen.co.uk