Swedish police containerise drunks at remote resort

POLICE in Sweden's northern Varmland coped with drunken New Year's revellers by putting them in a customised shipping container until they sobered up, reports The Local, Sweden's English language news portal.

The container is equipped with ventilation, a simple drainage system (a hole in the floor) and furnished with fireproof mattresses and an inspection window.

The box was used last summer by the local recreation club in Branas in northern Varmland to hold inebriated rally-cross enthusiasts during the European championship week.

The container is set in a fenced-off area at a garage owned by the National Road Administration five kilometres from the ski hill.

We are probably the first in Sweden to do this, said Peter Akerstrom of the Varmland police detachment. People go there to have fun. It is probably not quite as fun to wake up in a detention container.

Police say they make use of the box until the Branas alpine area closes after the Easter.

Source: Schednet