Police are to be given new powers to punish teenage gangs who disturb the public by rowdy binge drinking in parks and on street corners.

Jacqui Smith, the home secretary, will tomorrow announce a criminal offence aimed at youths persistently caught in possession of alcohol in public places.

The move is part of the Youth Alcohol Action plan, the latest attempt by Gordon Brown to address growing public disquiet about antisocial behaviour and violence among the young.

Home Office figures released this weekend show that 21% of 11 to 15-year-olds drink regularly. The average amount consumed by persistent young drinkers has “increased sharply” and is now double the number of units consumed in 1990.

“Groups of under-18s drinking in public are an all too familiar sight,” said Smith. “This type of drinking increases youth antisocial behaviour and crime, puts young people in vulnerable situations and I want to put a stop to it.”

Smith said that parents must also play their part in tackling the blight of teenage binge drinking. Courts will be encouraged to prosecute parents whose children are repeatedly caught drinking in public.

There will be a greater use of parenting orders, under which parents have to attend formal classes in how to look after their children.

“Parents must play their role, too. I want to see a greater use of parenting orders and antisocial behaviour contracts [Asbos] when young people are caught persistently drinking in public,” said Smith.

“If parents and children need to meet a trained worker to get them back on the right track, then so be it.”

The proposed law will mean that if police catch those aged under 18 drinking in a public park or bus shelter and move them on, they will be able to arrest the youngsters if they later find them drinking on a nearby street or estate.

The plan will also make it easier to remove the licences of shopkeepers who sell drink to under-18s.

Evidence suggests that children aged 10 to 15 who have been drunk once a month or more in the past year were twice as likely to commit a crime as those who had not been drinking.

Under the plans, teachers will be told to look out for pupils with hangovers and to refer repeat offenders to clinics or counsellors.

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