Fears police will be stretched by late-night drinking

Police officers will be forced off the street during the day in order to provide more patrols at night under the new licensing regime, according to one local authority.

Bridgnorth Council in Shropshire is the latest local authority to claim granting pubs later licences will seriously over-stretch the police.

Councillor Elizabeth Yeomans claimed the sum effect of the new laws would be that pubs would close at the same time, only later, rather than resulting in staggered opening.

"If police have to be available at those hours, it stands to reason that they are not going to be available during other hours," Cllr Yeomans said.

"Obviously they have to have time off, and it's a concern where this is going to come from."

The councillor said that the area already did not have sufficient numbers of police.

But Inspector Andy Thomas, area commander for Bridgnorth, told The Publican the police were fully prepared for November 24.

"I believe we are ready and the officers available to us will be able to cover all our normal responsibilities," he said.

"I have talked about the new legislation with various organisations and voiced my belief that we will have to adapt our tactics to cope with the new licensing. But the full impact won't really be known for a long time."

The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said policing the extended licensing hours was primarily a matter for local forces.

But a spokesman added: "The police service is already having to deal with significant levels of drunken thuggery that blight our cities, towns and villages but our activity only deals with the symptom not the cause.

"A real solution to this problem will only occur if all involved get to grips with changing the culture that leads to excessive drinking and continue to press the drinks industry to adopt a responsible attitude."