Crackdown on pub yobs (From Warrington Guardian)

Crackdown on pub yobs

CONGLETON landlords are sending out a zero tolerance message to hooligans by banning them from town pubs.

A dozen men and women, most of them in their 30s, have been banned indefinitely from scores of pubs in Congleton.

The bans were imposed by members of the Congleton Pub Watch scheme, which covers almost every inn in the town.

In addition Pub Watch members have slapped a lifetime ban on a Congleton man in his 40s who has caused regular problems at local pubs.

The life ban is believed to be the first such punishment imposed by any of the Pub Watch schemes in the borough, and has been welcomed by the police.

The series of bans has also led to a reduction in trouble at local pubs, which reported only one incident over the Christmas and New Year period.

Congleton Pub Watch boasts a total of 36 pubs, and the aim of the scheme is to send out a message that loutish behaviour in and around pubs will not be tolerated.

Landlords who signed up to the scheme are keen to ensure people enjoy their night out in town without having to worry about drunken yobs.

Pub Watch members meet to decide whether to impose a ban across all the pubs in the scheme on people reported by landlords for causing trouble.

The bans can be indefinite, although those barred from pubs in the town can appeal to have the ban lifted.

However an appeal by the Congleton man in his 40s resulted in him being barred from entering any pub in the scheme for the rest of his life.

"The most recent meeting of the group reported just one incident at local pubs over the Christmas period and New Year," said PC Dave Newton, who acts as a link between landlords and the police.

"That was criminal damage, into which we are making further inquiries.

"The fact that there was only one incident is a powerful endorsement of the Pub Watch scheme and the responsible way local landlords are running their pubs and looking after their customers and staff."

He said the life ban was imposed just before Christmas as a result of a series of problems and an assault.

"We have taken out the problem people in Congleton, and I would like to thank the community for the way they behaved over the festive period," he said.