Amsterdam launches ad campaign telling young British men to ‘stay away’

Amsterdam wants to change it's image to tourists

The Dutch capital's city council have released video, primarily aimed at 18 to 35 in the UK as part of their efforts to change their reputation for being one of the party capitals of Europe.

In the warning, the video shows young men staggering in the street, being handcuffed by police, getting their fingers printed and having their photos taken by the authorities.

Local members of the council have used the video to highlight the impact of excessive use of alcohol and drugs when British tourists check into venues such as hostels for occasions like stag parties.

Coffee shops are legally allowed to sell cannabis in the Netherlands so long as they follow other guidelines such as not serving alcohol or to underage customers.

Amsterdam is currently one of the cheapest destinations for British youngsters to travel to with return flights currently standing at £50 and is one of the world's most visited cities with up to 20m people travelling there each year.

Several UK travel agencies also offer stag weekends with incentives such as canal boat cruises offering unlimited booze, "steak and strip" nights and red light district pub crawls.

Starting this weekend, brothels and bars will now close earlier while smoking cannabis on the streets in the Red Light District will be banned as of May.

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