The Halifax Courier sent a 16-year-old into pubs and shops to buy alcohol illegally, using a fake ID card it has sent off for via the Internet.

The paper said there was a loophole in the law which let children legally buy fake ID cards.

The companies that sell them do so legally too.

It is only illegal to use the fake ID card fraudulently.

The paper has launched a campaign to call for the closure of the loophole that allows companies to sell the cards as long as they are not exact copies of official documents.

To see how easy it was to obtain one of the fake cards, the Courier put the system to the test, enrolling a 16-year-old boy to send away for one with a date of birth that made him appear to be 18.

He was then instructed to send passport-size photos and £10 to an office in Congleton, Cheshire.

No proof of identity was required. One of the firm’s instructions was NOT to write the company name on the envelope.

His supposed National Identification card arrived within days.

Armed with it, he then went out into Halifax and was able to buy premium-strength lager in four off-licences and four town-centre pubs without being challenged.

The cards are apparently being used by children as young as 14 in bars, pubs and off-licences and staff say it is confusing sorting the real from the fake.

The Courier campaign is being backed by the police and the town’s MP, Linda Riordan.