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Patron at a pub
© AFP/File Nicolas Asfouri

The latest attempt by the police to get hip with the kids is aimed at hammering home a responsible drinking message to the sort of young lady who might be found blind drunk and vomiting in a gutter after a night out on the town.

"For those of you intent on getting ratted (drunk) this weekend, think," reads Safe! magazine, accompanied by pictures of a scantily-clad woman collapsed on the floor flashing her underwear.

"If you fall over or pass out, remember your skirt or dress may ride up. You could show off more than you intended -- for all our sakes, please make sure you're wearing nice pants and that you've recently had a wax.

"Better still, eat before you go out, think about how much you're drinking, pace yourself and drink plenty of water between bevvies (drinks), or better still, don't get in this sorry state -- it's not nice."

The Suffolk constabulary in eastern England insists there is a serious point behind their seemingly bizarre advice.

Officers felt they had to talk to women in a language they might understand.

"There have been a number of attacks on women who have been drinking and there is a serious message to get across," a Suffolk Police spokeswoman told The Guardian newspaper.

"We've written this in a gossipy, tongue-in-cheek style in the hope that young women will pick it up and read it and take notice."

British police forces are no strangers to wacky ways of communicating with the public.

In January, Avon and Somerset Police plastered baffling messages in "trendy" text message-style patois across rough estates in Bristol, southwest England, warning youths to curb their anti-social behaviour.

"D bil cum arnd hre n wl vzit ur olds if ur messin bout," read one, while another asked: "du ur olds knw whr U r o wot ur doin coz D bil wl tel em." ("The Bill (slang term for police) come around here and will visit your olds (parents) if you are messing about" "Do your olds know where you are or what you are doing because the Bill will tell them")

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