Piste police to clamp down on drink-skiing

Newly appointed ski marshalls in france and italy will be crackind down on Drunken skiiers

The marshalls will be in place to make the slopes safer and will have the power to breathalyse skiiers behaving recklessly and to remove anyone who fails the breath test from the slopes.

Despite this crackdown, however, 24 percent of British skiiers say that it will not stop them drinking. According to a survey by Churchill insurance, Skiiers believe that Drinking and Skiing go hand in hand.

Only 34 per cent of those questioned said they waited until they had hung up their skies for the day before downing a drink, while 15 per cent admitted to drinking at lunchtime and throughout the day.

"Our research shows that Britons are not taking the dangers of drinking and skiing seriously," said Paul Whymark, head of Churchill Travel Insurance.

"We fully support the introduction of `piste police', as any measures that reduce the numbers of accidents on the slopes are a step in the right direction," he added.

The newly appointed 'piste police' will also be encouraging safer skiing by tackling speeding on the slopes.