WARRINGTON Borough Council and Cheshire Police are currently running a consultation on the use of a public space protection order within Warrington (Warrington Guardian, April 6).

Such an order allows individual police officers to decide who may or may not consume alcohol within the area affected.

The use of such zones is unnecessary, draconian and potentially divisive.

The police already have powers to deal with any anti-social behaviour – be it drunk and disorderly, breaches of the peace, threatening behaviour etc.

It is both too all-encompassing and, at the same time, risks being discriminatory, or seen to be.

The fact that an individual police officer decides who may or not drink within the zone could lead to perceived profiling of and discrimination against certain categories of people.

This would be divisive whether or not such perceived discriminatory action was intended.

It risks unnecessarily criminalising and alienating people – in particular young people. it may indeed be counter-productive in tackling anti-social behaviour.

DAVE WILLIAMS Fearnhead