Wellington  - Hundreds of New Zealand teenagers are using forged drivers' licences with false birth dates to show that they are 18 years old - the legal drinking age - police said Monday after charging a student with forgery.

Police said they had seized a computer from a 17-year-old and obtained a database with the names of hundreds of recipients of forged drivers' licences.

They charged five students with using forged licences and urged others to surrender the fake documents to avoid arrest.

Police said the teens using forged licences, which they allegedly bought for 100 New Zealand dollars (74 US dollars) to gain admission to bars and pubs, were almost all 17-year-olds from as many as 15 schools in the Auckland region. (IANS)