It's 1 a.m. on Front Street and there's a steady stream in the doors of a bar which one clubber has aptly dubbed “the playground” - the spot du jour for those who are under-age but are willing to cheat a little to have a good time.

Though they may not have 18 years of life experience under their belt, what these teenage fun seekers do have is a little piece of doctored plastic. And in Hamilton's nightclubs the fake ID is as good as any golden key.

In the backroom of the bar, a live band is half playing and half rollicking on the stage, with many of the partygoers jumping up to take a try at the mike.

The musicians themselves seem comfortable on stage and play a good set but they do seem much younger than your average rockers.

Then again they are very young. In fact the guitarist technically is not allowed to be in a bar because he is under 18.

As long as he doesn't have anything to drink, though, he can keep his night job.

Unfortunately none of the dozens of other underage clubbers can trot out the excuse that they're “with the band”.

But as you take a look around the dark room, so many of the faces which are glowing under the coloured lamps seem far too young to be 18. But that doesn't stop many of them trying their hardest to look like they're of-age.

Groups of young girls, with their hair dyed blonde and their faces heavily made up, make turns around the crowded room. They can't help bumping into the young men who are standing three deep at the bar.

Clad in short skirts and tops that creep up well past their navels, these girls laugh and chat with the boys, but all too often the laughter gets a little too loud and its clear that perhaps that last drink was just one too much.

But then there's a call for shots, and a group of three or four of the fun seekers down a ‘lemon drop': a shot of vodka with a slice of lemon and its not long before one of the girls falls on the floor laughing, skirt flying everywhere.

We counted at least two dozen underage bar hoppers in the room of roughly 150 patrons.

“I use an ID I got through a sports course I did,” a 17 year old girl readily offered.

“It was pretty easy, I just put down that I was born in 1982 instead of 1986 when I sent away my information to the States. And they sent back my certification card to me.

“The bouncers never give me a problem with it, but you're not going to say that in the paper are you?”

She then points to a tall, clean cut kid in shorts and a polo shirt.

“He got an ID when he was in the States.”

It turns out that this 17 year old, like many of the other bar goers, is Bermudian but attends boarding school in the US. While up there he picked up a New York State residents' card which he proudly displays for our perusal.

“I'm 22 in this and my 15-year-old brother over here he's 20.” he said.

“He's got one that says he's from Utah,” he says handing over his little brother's coloured ID card - a glossy and official looking job, with a picture of a baby faced 15 year old.

Outside the club, two 17-year-old girls both clearly inebriated reveal another secret of illegally entering nocturnal haunts - sexuality.

“Today, they didn't even ask us for our ID's (fake cards from the UK) because if you are wearing low tops, like this, they won't ask,” one girl says as points out her revealing top.

They then make their way down to the next club, calling out to some boys who had left them behind.

As countless teens will testify it's easy to get around the checks and balances that are meant to ensure their safety.

With technology and a little bit of cunning, it's not too hard to come up with your own little plastic key to Hamilton's night clubs.

“All you need is a scanner and you use your own licence, just make sure that you have the number of the licence that you need, like a ‘5' so you can make ‘1986' into ‘1985',” advised a 19-year-old girl sounding like a consultant. “Then you just copy and paste it, then print it out on some photo paper.”

She doesn't have, or need, a laminator.

“I just used the sheets of sticky plastic but I've heard of all different ways that you can do it... people break open their old ID's and replace the old information. For my friend we laminated it onto her old licence.”

“It only took two seconds really.” She added: “I'm sure other people have better equipment to do a better job because I see younger and younger people at the clubs. So there has to be people making them.

“The thing is that Bermuda licences are so easy to fake. I've gotten four from TCD because I've lost them and each one is a different colour. In the States they are all exactly the same.”

“There's no secret process to making them. It's just like two steps.”

The next night, many of the “playground's” underage patrons are seen at Byron Lee's Soca show where no bouncers are checking IDs for an extravaganza which is promoted as a family event. But its also known for having a very free flowing bar.

Making our way down the dock towards the bathroom, at least three young people can be found kneeling over the edge, vomiting. Towards the very end of the dock, we find the 17-year-old boy, who the night before showed us his New York ID.

But now he is in no position to talk - lying in a foetal position on the ground next to the edge of the dock, he has been throwing up into the water for the past half hour.

“Get these kids out of here,” shouts a Corporation of St. George's worker in the public toilets.

“These kids have been throwing up all night and I'm the one is going to have to clean up after them.”

“Why did you let him drink so much?,” she yells accusingly at a group of young people who are helping out a boy who is throwing up in a trash bin.

Twenty minutes later and the boy clad in a polo shirt is still in the same position.

He can't walk unaided and ultimately he will leave that evening an ambulance in order to be treated at the hospital.